An Ocean of Tears
by Kaorin71
Summary: Ever since her entry into showbiz, Kyoko has slowly began her journey to the pinnacle of stardom. She's in the prime of her life when unexpectedly, a shadow from the past comes back to unveil the truth. With no time to waste, Kyoko must strive harder to keep everything and everyone in her life intact, while battling the most gruesome enemy she has ever encountered: death.
1. Return

_Kaorin71: Another story from yours truly. I keep thinking of stories to write but I just can't end them! Most of my stories are oneshots – if anyone even noticed – because I suck at making endings. Well, back to the topic. This one is something I just wrote randomly and I don't think I'll be updating often (I lost all my ideas for the story after the fifth chapter). But if anyone would read this, you have to be patient…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat (I wish I really did!)_

_P.S: Reviews are welcome! (If you want) Criticisms also! But not so harsh! _

_Another P.S: This story was inspired by One Liter of Tears and I also do not own that._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Return**

Noon time. The peak of work at LME. Almost everyone seems busy. Even the Love-Me members themselves are having a hard time keeping up with the hectic schedule. Kanae had a guest appearance to do. Chiori had her shooting. And Kyoko had her, well, normal job being Bo.

The newbie actress now sat on a chair in the far corner of the set. It was a really lively day seeing the crew move around in the speed of light. Unfortunately, Kyoko wasn't feeling very jolly that day as she watched the men in her chicken suit. She had been contemplating about why she has no new offers when her two beloved best friends are going crazy over the tons of jobs given to them.

_I am not that good,_ she sighed. She was, after all, only good at acting bully roles which she didn't like one bit. But she can't complain as she was told by Kuu. He had helped her a lot and advised her to take all jobs given to her no matter how much she hates it. He said that this was the key to becoming a good actress though Kyoko isn't sure anymore.

"Kyoko-chan," Hikaru Ishibashi, one of the hosts of the show, asked as he came up to her. "Do you want to go out for lunch?"

Shaking her head wildly, she smiled in apology. "I don't think I can eat yet. Besides, you're going to order that anpan. I'm still on diet."

"Okay," Hikaru sighed, bowing his head a little.

Kyoko turned to glance at the opposite direction as Hikaru was approached by the other two Ishibashi. They smiled at their leader.

"I was rejected again." Sighing yet another time, he groaned. "My fault for being short."

Yusei Ishibashi laughed. "I doubt that it's the reason. Don't compare yourself with Tsuruga-san."

Shinichi shrugged. "They are the same age, I think. The problem lies with your genes, leader. Try taking up aerobics."

While these three were talking about this, Kyoko decided to walk along the corridors for a few moments. Of course being in that God damn chicken suit didn't help her walk faster. It also made her sweat a lot. Though she did not notice.

She sighed. If she doesn't stop doing that, Maria might scold her again. But nothing can be done now. Kyoko was too down to even care for luck.

Thinking about her jobs, Kyoko stopped short. Her role in Dark Moon gave her a good image to the public, opposite to what she had expected. And Natsu was starting to look good for her. Bo was alright yet Kyoko would find herself wondering why she even bothers with a mascot role on a reality show. As far as she was concerned, she had already gotten a lot of good jobs.

Kyoko smiled at the mere thought. She nodded in approval. Yes, that's right. She did all her roles perfectly and she had succeeded. Another opportunity might knock at her door anytime.

Yet, it was Tsuruga who helped her with her characters which means…

Realizing this, the seventeen year old sunk into deep despair. She does deserve to be ignored. She had no talent at all. Those roles, the ones she had perfectly portrayed, were all because of her beloved sempai, Ren Tsuruga. Surely, if Ren hadn't decided to help her, she would've failed in her job. In other words, she only got the role right because Ren had taken time to teach her some acting skills.

"Damn it," Kyoko grumbled as she fell to the ground. She conveniently took out a small sewing kit which she had placed in the rooster's pocket. Opening the case, a Sho voodoo doll immediately came stumbling out. It was wearing an ordinary school boy's uniform. This Kyoko made to make her remember why the hell she was suffering so much. And, of course, for a purpose that only she would know.

A needle and a thread came popping out. In one smooth motion, this girl had slipped the thread through the hole on the needle and began sewing shirts for her favorite doll. The Sho-pleading-for-mercy-to-his-beloved-master one. If one were to see this, he would think that a rooster sewing would be a weird sight.

"Why am I such a failure anyway?" She continued grumbling. "I can't even make my own role. It's like this everytime. There would be a problem and I would ask Tsuruga-san for help. I'm never going to rise in this business if I continue holding unto him."

A few thudding sounds echoed through the hall. She didn't mind this; she thought it was just another crew man looking for materials. What she didn't expect was for this man to arrive.

"Hey."

Kyoko instantly froze at the voice. Looking up, she saw Ren glancing down at her with an amused expression. Not knowing that it was really her, of course. Her grip on the doll tightened, as if she wanted to choke it. After a few moments, she quickly hid the doll behind her. No luck though, as Ren has already seen it.

"I didn't know that you were a Fuwa fan," he chuckled. Kyoko thought she sensed a tone of disliking in the actor's voice.

Fumbling with the Sho doll, she laughed insecurely. "No. I'm just doing a, um, favor for a close friend." She made sure that she disguised her voice when she spoke.

Ren looked startled. "Oh? A rooster has a close friend?"

Shrugging, Kyoko answered, "I'm not a rooster all the time. It's just my job."

Still not taking his eyes off the miniature Sho, Ren grinned. "Why would a rooster like you sew dolls at an area like this? Wouldn't it seem suspicious?"

_AHHH! I'm not a rooster I told you! _Growing irritated, Kyoko smiled at him. Why was he treating her so badly? Ren was always so nice to her as Bo but why now? Did Sawara tell him? "I'm waiting for the show to start so I went here to sew quietly," she answered with caution. She will get revenge on Sawara if he did so.

"Isn't it hot in that suit?" He asked her. "Why don't you take it off?"

_HE KNOWS!_ Kyoko thought in disdain. He was stalling her and making her experience torture by verbal means. He planned this all along.

Grabbing her rooster head, Kyoko backed away a bit. "No need. I'm definitely fine. Don't take it off. It's really not a big deal. I don't sweat much. It practically feels very cool in here. Not a single sweat. I swear!" She might as well be a turkey mascot if she keeps on babbling like that.

Amusement once again covered his face. "Why not? Are you hiding something inside that suit? Probably you look horrendous in person."

"Who says I look horrendous? I might be plain and boring but I'm not that. My face is nothing you would be interested in." Yeah. Something he _shouldn't_ be interested in would've fit the statement better. If he finds out she was inside that chicken/rooster all along, she'd die.

"Even so, I'd like to see who's in that suit. I do owe you a lot. I'd like to see the person who has helped me a lot of times already."

Still holding the head, Kyoko dodged Ren's hand. Surprised, he glanced at the chicken who was shaking uncontrollably. It really struck him hard because he started laughing at her.

Kyoko, her face growing red, growled at Ren. "What's so funny?"

Ren answered, still laughing, "You sound like someone I know."

_Someone he knows?_ Kyoko thought about this.

Suddenly, Ren grabbed the chicken's head. Kyoko yelped, gripping it tighter. It seemed like a battle between a chicken and an abnormally tall person. Like the Sho incident, Kyoko tried pecking Ren to make him let go. He wouldn't budge however which made Kyoko anxious.

"Ren," a voice called.

Both glanced up and saw Yashiro, Ren's manager. Seeing the situation between the two, Yashiro hesitantly asked, "Ren, why are you harassing the chicken?"

Putting his fake smile on, Ren replied, "I think that it would be better if he took that costume off for a moment since it's hot. But for some unexplained reason, he won't."

Kyoko sighed in relief. Ren didn't know. Proof was the fact that he used the pronoun 'he'.

"Leave the chicken," Yashiro frowned. "I thought you never harass anyone except Kyoko-chan."

Ren threw a sideways glance at him. "I wasn't harassing the chicken. Besides, Mogami-san isn't included in this matter."

_Oh, Yashiro-san and Tsuruga-san are arguing,_ Kyoko thought as she watched them. She didn't think that Ren would be childish enough to pick on a mascot, though.

Someone from the set came up. "Bo, you can take your leave now. The show's cancelled for tonight because of the band's conference."

"Alright." Extra time was on her hands now. But she needs to change first. "Well, Tsuruga Ren, see you later."

Ren and Yashiro watched as she left them in the hall. The actor found the way she ran funny.

Yashiro gave him a disapproving look. "Ren, no wonder Kyoko-chan still thinks of you as a sempai."

Turning away, he mused, "I was just suggesting something to the chicken. He did remind me of Mogami-san."

"Really?"

"His attitude is somewhat like hers," Ren said. "It really seemed like her. That chicken, I wonder who's in that suit."

_Maybe I'll find out some other time, _he thought.

* * *

Kyoko took the suit off. Talk about having a close call. Ren almost pulled the head off. If he had, he would've seen her face. And he would probably be angry because she never told him.

She quickly slipped on her Love-Me uniform, much to her dismay. The president made her, Kanae and Chiori wear that as punishment for 'lack of inspiration', he says.

After putting on the overalls, she arranged her costume at the corner of the room. She placed the suit on top of the chair and left a note to the producer. Opening the door, she merrily skipped out to the hall.

That's when her phone rang.

Startled, she picked up. "Konnichiwa. Mogami Kyoko speaking."

"Kyoko-chan."

It was Takenori Sawara. Kyoko's face brightened. "What is it?"

Clearing his throat, he said, "Someone's looking for you."

Her? Who could be looking for her? "Who is it?"

"She says you know her back in Kyoto."

Kyoto. Was she one of those girls who always bullied her? "I can't remember anyone. What's her name?"

Sawara told her the name over the phone. In shock, she had dropped the phone to the floor. At normal times, she would be crying over spilt milk but not today. That person really asked for her? It can't be.

She tried processing what Sawara said. That name. What did she want from her? That woman…

_Saena Mogami._


	2. Confrontation

_Kaorin71: Here's chapter two! There's nothing exciting in this part, I guess. Just the mother-and-daughter talk part. I marked this story rated T just to be safe. And as for the Kyoko*Ren romance, that'll be in the later chapters (if I will continue updating)._

_P.S: I'm referring to Kyoko in the summary, the one with 'Why she can no longer live that long…' That'll be explained later in the story. But if you know One Liter of Tears, you'll know what I mean by that._

_Disclaimer: I do not and will never own the manga Skip Beat._

* * *

**Chapter 2: Confrontation**

Her shoes thudded against the floor as she ran to the office. Kyoko gasped as she opened the door violently. Sawara looked up from the desk and shouted something as soon as he saw Kyoko. The girl absent-mindedly crawled to him, probably because she couldn't walk anymore. She melted after reaching the desk.

"Kyoko-chan!" Alarmed, Sawara stood up and gestured at one person to get him a glass of water. Handing her the drink, he sighed. "What did you do again?"

"The woman who wanted to see me," Kyoko choked. She was speaking and drinking at the same time, which was surprising. "I didn't hear her name. What was it?"

Sawara frowned. "Of course you didn't. The phone went dead as I was halfway through saying the name."

The girl groaned. "It was malfunctioning. I thought I heard you say Saena Mogami."

The man's gaze fell on her. "Yes, that's what I said. That's her name."

"In that case," she said, leaning over the table, "please tell her I'm not available."

"Eh?" A question popped up in his mind. "I told her that you would meet her down the hall. I can't cancel that out. I'm sure she's already there."

Her demons surrounded Sawara as he said this. Kyoko's expression darkened. "Why did you tell her that I'm here? I'm gonna die if I see her!"

"What's wrong with that?" Sawara could sense the evil aura tightening around him. "Who is she anyway?"

Hearing this, Kyoko's demons retreated. Her face grew solemn as she said, "My mother."

"Your mother? Then shouldn't you be excited that you would be seeing her again?"

"No," she softly whispered. "I'm not. Because… she abandoned me. She left me years ago. She doesn't care what would happen to me and most of all..."

"…she doesn't love me."

"Kyoko-chan." Sawara suddenly felt guilty of crime. If he had known the relationship between Kyoko and her mother, he wouldn't have done that. Nothing could be done now, though. Saena Mogami was waiting for her daughter at the end of the hall. "Do you want me to cancel the meeting? Even if it's too late, maybe there's a way."

Standing up from her position, she shook her head. "No need, Sawara-san. I had seen this coming. I should probably end this now until it gets bigger."

He only nodded at her request. "Good luck with that."

Sighing, she walked out of the door. Such things were bound to happen. She had thought that her mother might come back for her after she figures out that the actress 'Kyoko' was her beloved - no, not beloved but despised daughter. She might want to demand a part of her income or file a case against LME for letting her enter the business without any verification from her. All of these she could do. It would depend on what mood she was in that moment.

She rounded a corner and stopped. She hadn't expected that it was already the end of the hall. And, as Sawara had told her, Saena was there. Surprisingly, she wore a casual outfit much opposed to her normal business woman type clothes. And she had her light brown hair down also different from the style she had years ago. What changed most was her facial expression. Without that serious mask on, she would look rather beautiful for an old woman.

Kyoko got into Natsu character, being high and proud. She confidently walked up to her mother. "You came back for me? I'm touched that you could even remember my name."

Immediately, her face was masked with the usual serious expression again. "I'm not here to play with you, child. You're not fit for this business so you better step down from you position."

Her reply earned her a sneer from Kyoko. "And you think that I would obey you? After what you did to me?"

Saena stiffened and her expression changed as if she was shocked that her daughter had the guts to say such words. "Kyoko, if you don't do what I say, I'll be forced to file a case against LME just to get you out of this."

"We'll find a way to make it a void. After all, you did leave me with the Fuwas. Meaning you surrendered your parental duties and obligations as my mother to them. That alone might suspend your case and it would probably take years before you figure out legal proof to back your claim."

"How did they raise you anyway?" Asked the woman. "You never answered back to me before."

Kyoko laughed sarcastically. "Your choice of abandoning me opened my eyes to reality. It was really foolish of me to love you. I learned that no matter how hard you work, you will never attain that feeling if that person has none of it. A woman like you who only looks at me as if I'm a leech in your life cannot give any love."

Saena narrowed her eyes at her. "If I didn't care for you, I wouldn't have come back. I wouldn't be here."

"Why are you here anyway? Are you here to ruin my life all over again? Do you really hate me that much?" Kyoko asked desperately, getting out of character. She couldn't stop herself from crying. "What's your reason this time?"

"That I can't tell you."

Kyoko looked at her with pleading eyes. "Why can't you tell me? Is it because you're here to kill me?"

"No, I'm not the one who would kill you," she said. Kyoko didn't understand this much. "I'm already warning you. You can't stay in this life longer. Your life would probably be over if you don't listen to me."

Her eyes widened. "What are you saying now?"

She swallowed hard. "You're not yet ready to listen to it. I left you for a reason, Kyoko. All things in this world have reasons. If you only know what that is, you would understand."

Her daughter stared at her. What could that reason be? And why can't Kyoko know about it?

A sudden dizzy feeling hit Kyoko. Her legs froze and her vision blurred. Her mind throbbed painfully as if it was about to burst. The she had a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach. She thought she would throw up so she decided to run to the restroom. But to her complete surprise, her legs wouldn't cooperate.

It was weird. She forgot how to walk. That moment, she felt disoriented. As if she couldn't remember how to lift her foot. It didn't help that her vision was failing by every second that passes.

Her body felt heavy. She narrowed her eyes at her mother. Was that some kind of curse? Did her mother do something? Yet she couldn't think of an answer. Her mind blanked and all she could feel was the feeling of falling down.

At the last second, someone caught her. With her remaining strength, she squinted at the person holding her. It was her mother.

_Why would she save me?_ Kyoko wearily thought. _Someone who hates even her own daughter…._

Saena, though, didn't look like a mother who hates her daughter. Kyoko saw it. Her face tight with fear and concern. But why?

"I told you already, Kyoko," she whispered. "I didn't leave you without a reason."

"Why?" Struggling to stay awake, she listened hard for her answer.

Her lips quivered a bit. "Not now. Not yet. You'll find out sooner. Maybe."

Then Kyoko fainted.

* * *

She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the white ceiling. An antiseptic smell wafted inside the room. Though she was awake, she still couldn't figure out anything.

Groaning, she tried to remember what had happened. She was called to the office. Sawara talked to her. That her mother had asked for her.

Her mother…

Sitting up, she glanced around the area. Everything white. No doubt, she was in a hospital. But her mother wasn't there.

Kyoko rubbed her head. Yes, it all came back to her. She had seen her mother. She wanted her to quit showbiz. And told her that she didn't hate her. Then she felt a sickening feeling and even forgot how to walk. After that, she fainted.

Who carried her to the hospital?

Just then, a nurse came in carrying a clipboard. Upon seeing Kyoko awake, she smiled. "You're alright, Mogami-san."

"Why am I here, miss?" Kyoko asked in complete confusion.

The nurse placed her clipboard on the side table. "My name's Miya Sasaki. You can just call me Sasaki-san. As for your question, a woman along with an extravagantly dressed man brought you in. Based on the tests, the doctor concluded that you might be over working yourself."

Kyoko sighed in relief as she imagined the president wearing his usual frilly dress carrying her like a princess to the hospital. "Yeah. I have been working nonstop." Then she asked, "Are they still here?"

Miya stalled. "No, they left. I mean, they had to go."

Kyoko nodded. She wanted to see her mother again to ask more questions. There are lots more to ask yet there are so few answers.

"We can make sure that you take a rest here," Miya told her, looking at her papers. She frowned but only for a brief second. Turning to Kyoko, she smiled again. "I'll have to leave now, Mogami-san. Please call if you need anything."

"Hai," Kyoko answered as she watched the nurse walk out.

Closing the door behind her, Miya immediately looked at the woman sitting near the room. Walking up to her, she sighed. "Saena, I'm not one to intrude in other people's businesses. But are you willing to keep this a secret? This is a serious matter, if you would ask my opinion"

Saena gave her a sidelong glance. "I can't tell her. Not when she still hates me."

"You knew this would happen. It would've been better if you had told her as a child."

"It would break her heart," she responded with anxiety. "She's not one to accept things like this easily."

"It's not my decision to make," she shrugged. A doctor then called her attention. "It's not as if you could change her fate."

After taking one last glance at Saena, she gracefully jogged away. She shouldn't have intruded with her friend's affairs, especially since she has no experiences being a mother. But then, keeping something that painful is a sin.

Sighing, Saena bowed her head. How could she probably tell her daughter the truth? About her real state in life? And about her father's real death? It wasn't enough that she had to hide everything. Now she has to confess everything to Kyoko.

_I'll wait,_ she decided._ When she personally comes to me, that's when I'll tell her. I left her, after all, just to have some time to think. Now that time's up. No use wasting the remainder of her life without her knowing it._

Standing up, she threw one last glance at the door. She expected Kyoko to come running out with arms open begging her not to leave. But that would impossible now. She laughed harshly. Yes, it will never happen.

_Please be fine, Kyoko, _she thought painfully as she marched away from the area.


	3. Accident

_Kaorin71: Another chapter about Kyoko thinking about Saena. Ren, well, is still in some far away chapter but I hope I can get to that. *sigh* Schoolwork is such drag. But for the sake of passing, I need to do it! For those who are endlessly patient and has the time to read this, especially Pia-chan (nickname), I appreciate it! Please R&R!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat…

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Accident**

_"I didn't leave you without a reason…"_

Kyoko frowned. Getting to her feet, she wondered about yesterday. Yes, they did let her out of the hospital. They even told her that Saena paid for her bill. What she told her seemed true enough. She didn't look like a mother who came back to profit from her daughter's hard work. Her reason must've been rational.

_Yet what did she mean by that?_ Kyoko sighed.

Pacing back and forth inside the Love-Me office, this girl tried thinking of reasons her mother had in mind. She came back for her. She told her to quit showbiz. Could it be that she doesn't want Kyoko to get famous? Then maybe Kyoko should tell her what Shoutaro did to her.

Or maybe she hates actors. Kyoko nodded idiotically. That's a possibility.

Still thinking, the doors suddenly flew open and Kanae came in with a scowl plastered on her face. Kyoko's mood immediately lifted at the sight of her beloved best friend. It took Kanae a few seconds to figure out that Kyoko was also in the room.

"Moko-san!" Kyoko exclaimed, running up to give her a hug.

Kanae, who was in no mood to play with her childish friend, shoved her away. "Don't do weird things! It's bad enough that we're in this cursed section."

Near to tears, Kyoko pleaded like a six year old. "But I haven't seen Moko-san in weeks! You've been busy with your jobs."

"That's exactly my problem," Kanae sighed, sitting down on the chair next to the table.

Her partner grew confused. "Why would it be a problem? Having so many jobs is a big deal for an actress. It's a once in a lifetime chance only given to those deserving to have it."

"You don't get it," Kanae scowled. "I'm shooting a movie now. And another director is requesting for me to be part of his."

"What's wrong with that?"

"On the first movie, we do the filming every three days a week. If I take up the second, then that would be another three days. Plus I still have an on going drama that needs polishing," Kanae counted, raising one finger with each point. She stared at Kyoko. "If I continue like this, I'll definitely collapse at the set. I'll become anemic, probably due to lack of sleep. And to think that I'm insomniac already."

Kyoko, believing that her friend was just exaggerating, took a seat beside her. "Moko-san, opportunities don't come everyday. If you can do it, you do it. Because you never know when you'll get your last role."

"Why are you suddenly teaching Zen life lessons?" Kanae asked. When Kyoko didn't answer right away, she laughed a bit. "Yeah, I can say you're right. Not everyday goes perfectly. Anyway, I can still think about these jobs."

Swirling one finger in the air, Kyoko nodded. She then dropped her finger and rummaged through her bag which was placed on top of the table. Pulling out a paper and a pencil, she smiled at Kanae. "I'm making a list of things to buy for Christmas. What would Moko-san want?"

Kanae laughed slightly. "Your birthday is five months away, Kyoko. But if you're wondering about a gift, I have nothing in mind."

"Eh? Not one? I need to know, Moko-san!"

Dismissing her earlier comment, she sighed again. "Okay. Some magazines about acting or cosmetics can do. It's not much."

She quickly took her pencil in hand and tried to write Kanae's words. She _tried._ Yet it didn't cooperate with her mind. It was like what had happened with Saena. She began to get heavy again and that same feeling of disorientation came back. To Kyoko's complete shock, she couldn't move.

Panic seized her. What was happening? She couldn't move. Nothing made sense at all.

Noticing her friend's sudden pause, she snapped her fingers in front of Kyoko. "What are you doing now? Stop acting so weird."

As she said that, Kyoko broke from her trance. Her hand twitched. Confused, she lifted her arm. It moved.

A grunt came from her side. Kyoko saw Kanae observing her. She raised her brows. "What?"

"Nothing," she said. "You just stopped. I thought something was happening."

"No, it's probably nothing," Kyoko softly said. She flexed her arms. Was it all her imagination?

_It's just an accident,_ she thought. _I spaced out. If anything was wrong, the doctor should've told me. Or Sasaki-san. Nothing's wrong._

The doors burst open again. The loud banging sound snapped Kyoko out of her mind. This time, it was Chiori Amamiya who came in who wore the same scowl Kanae had earlier. She slammed her purse on the table, dragged a chair beside the two and sat down uncomfortably.

"Amamiya-san?" Kyoko hesitantly asked. "What happened now?"

Chiori looked at Kyoko, her eyes filled with anger mixed with fear. "I hate my new project."

"Why?" She asked in a high pitched voice. "Didn't you say that the movie was perfect for you? It's a hard core drama! It's definitely your section."

She tapped her fingers on the table as she groaned. "You're right. My problem is the person who's my leading man."

"Who?" Kyoko and Kanae asked at the same time.

She paused for a second before saying: "Ren Tsuruga."

Both Love-Me members blinked twice. Chiori nodded in dismay. The room became silent for a few moments.

"Ren Tsuruga?" Kanae reacted. _That certainly is hell._

Kyoko reacted differently, however. "That's great then, Amamiya-san. Tsuruga-san is a great teacher not to mention a number one actor too. You'll definitely learn a lot from him. You're maybe the luckiest girl on Earth if you would ask his fans."

"Unfortunately, I'm not a Tsuruga fan," Chiori said. She threw a perplexed look at Kyoko. "Honestly, Mogami-san, do you love Tsuruga-san that much?"

"Love?" Kyoko laughed. "What are you talking about? He's my sempai. I've learned everything from him, after all."

_Tsuruga, you're hopeless._ Kanae thought. _If you plan on getting this girl, you'll have to sacrifice your pride. Because this girl, my weird best friend, is probably the most clueless person in the world. And if she does realize her feelings and loves you back, I still won't hand her to you that easily._

_I'll wait for that day, _she thought evilly.

"Well, Amamiya-san," Kyoko started. "You should just get along with him. Because if you don't, he would look scary." She grimaced. "Make sure you don't anger him."

"He gets angry?"

"Yeah."

Just when the three of them were engaging in a conversation, Sawara quickly stepped inside the room carrying what seemed to be a mountain high paper work. Kyoko expected the president coming in next, seeing that so many people have come in the office. Maybe even Ren would come in.

Placing the papers down, Sawara threw the three an accusing look. "You girls should be happy with your jobs. Who do you think has to deal with all your paper work?" He didn't even bother to arrange the heap.

"We were just talking about how to handle impossible jobs," Kanae told him, clearly bored.

"There are a lot of them," Chiori added.

"Well get to work then," Sawara said, observing them. "It's already working time here. If you have nothing to do now, Mogami-san, you can go with Amamiya-san to the set. Tsuruga-san was looking for you yesterday."

Grumbling, Kanae and Chiori headed out the office with Kyoko trailing behind. She could not shake the feeling of weirdness whenever she sees her best friend and Chiori together. They are alike, in some ways. Sometimes, she wonders if Chiori and Kanae are sisters who were separated by a cruel fate. She does believe in fairy tales so why wouldn't she think about this?

Speaking of which, Sawara mentioned that Ren looked for her yesterday. That's alright then. He doesn't know that Kyoko got admitted to the hospital. She herself couldn't explain why either so it was better that no one knows about it.

Today, Kyoko will only have one job. And that's for 'Box R' in the afternoon. Chiori is also included so she could just accompany her around. Other than that, she could just glide around the halls. Or float in and out of the set like a ghost.

"Kyoko, hurry up or you'll be left behind!" Kanae called up from inside the elevator. She was thinking to hard that she didn't notice that they had left her in the hall.

"Coming, Mo -" She didn't finish her sentence. It hit her again. That strange sensation.

Feeling totally confused and frustrated at herself, she glanced at her friends who were looking at her, shocked. Nothing can be done now. Kyoko let herself fall down, head first. Not that she meant it. If she could only place her hands in front to protect herself, she would've gotten up without a scratch. Yet she didn't, which itself was weird.

A loud thud echoed through the corridors as Kyoko landed on the floor unconscious. Thank God, her head didn't crack open. It just bled. Good thing she didn't have hemophilia.

"Kyoko!" Kanae exclaimed, running up to the fallen figure. Her friend was really weird, she knows. But this is surely the weirdest she has seen from her. Lifting Kyoko's head up, she gasped quietly. Blood covered her forehead.

Chiori swiftly responded to the situation. Dashing to the Love-Me office, she hoped to find Sawara there. Maybe he'd be a help. Any help will have to do.

Meanwhile, Kyoko dizzily realized her mistake. She shook her head carefully and gazed at Kanae. "An accident. It was an accident."

Gritting her teeth, Kanae said, "Since when did you become so clumsy, Kyoko? You tripped and fell down just like that. That's not normal!"

Kyoko tried to stand up. "I've been over working myself." _Maybe._

But Kanae prevented her in doing so. She reached for her hanker chief and spread it out. Carefully, she wiped the blood from her face.

"Take it easy," she murmured. "Someone's bound to see us. We'll get you stitched."

Kyoko weakly nodded. Though stitching didn't sound very pleasant, she was too exhausted to argue. Probably because of the blood loss and that she had hit her head hard.

Seconds later, Chiori arrived along with Sawara. Kyoko saw, through her closing eyes, Sawara's panicked reaction. She heard some sounds around her. Seems like the people around the campus have seen her. After another minute, she felt herself being lifted. Who lifted her? She couldn't figure out. Though the smell faintly resembles Ren's own scent.

_I can't understand_, Kyoko breathed. _What's going on with my life? These accidents, what are they? And why do they keep happening?_

The more she thought about it, the more her pain increased. As if losing so much blood wasn't enough, now this. Kyoko groaned one last time as she recalled what her mother told her.

_"Not now. Not yet. You'll find out sooner. Maybe."_

_Soon…_


	4. Pursuit

_Kaorin71: Chapter four's up! It's kind of boring, along with chapter five. It's relatively short and only focuses on Kyoko and Saena… again. But I do hope that it gets better when I get into the mood to write.*sigh* Please R&R!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the manga Skip Beat._

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_**Chapter 4: Pursuit**

White ceiling. The scent of antiseptics. A weird sensation on the head.

_Am I at this hospital again?_

Wide awake, Kyoko sat up, her head throbbing painfully. Yes, it was the same hospital. And if she remembered correctly, this was the same room as yesterday. Maybe it's just pure coincidence.

The door slowly opened. Kyoko was surprised to find Miya walking in, carrying the same clipboard she had carried the day before. The nurse smiled as she came closer, having direct eye contact with Kyoko.

"It seems that you have a thing for accidents," Miya said. She meant as a joke so the mood in the area might lighten up. Checking her clipboard, she frowned. This was Kyoko's second time seeing her like that. "You have, however, a much more serious damage this time."

Shifting on the bed, Kyoko whimpered. "Déjà vu? Is it possible that all of this has happened?"

Miya glanced up from her position. She placed her clipboard on the side table and hopped on her bed. "You might say that but today is different from yesterday. This might happen again. It feels weird, doesn't it?"

Nodding, Kyoko groaned. She touched her forehead and recoiled at the pain. Miya giggled at her act.

"Don't do that. It will really hurt."

Somehow, Kyoko felt herself relax. Miya was a good nurse. She wondered if she had any experiences with children. "Sasaki-san, do you have children?"

"Me?" Miya tilted her head sideways like a child would do. She exhaled as she said, "No, I have none. Oh, the bitter irony of life. When I was around your age, I was like a magnet for men. Yet now, I don't know. I'm all by myself."

No one would doubt that men liked her when she was younger. Her chocolate brown hair matched her fair skin. And her eyes are like pools of brilliant emerald. Unlike herself who was never more beautiful than a road killed cat.

A question came into her mind. "Did that woman who brought me here gave you any information to where I can find her?"

Hearing her request, Miya pursed her lips. "Yes, she did leave her address to me."

She clasped her hands. There was still hope. "Can I have it?"

"Sure you can," she replied uncertainly. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Huh?"

Smiling, Miya turned away. "Nothing."

She exited through the door. It has become her habit to look at the chairs beside the room to check on the visitors. Indeed, that habit has proved to be helpful. If she hadn't looked there, they might've raced inside the room which was still forbidden.

As soon as Ren saw her come to them, he stood up and asked, "Is she going to be okay?"

Still having that smile on her face, she said, "I could say so."

Ren sighed in relief. Behind him, Kanae, Chiori and Yashiro also did the same. He turned back to the nurse. "When is she going to be released?"

She shook her head. "I can't say exactly when. I'm not her doctor. Maybe about a day or so." From her pocket, she took out a pen and started writing on the pad. "I'll need some information about what had happened, though. Would you mind?"

"Not at all, if it will help her get better," Kanae answered for the group since she was the one who was with Kyoko when she was still bleeding like hell. "Like my earlier statement, Kyoko started running but fell to the floor head first without any warning. Weird enough, she tripped on her own two feet."

The brown haired nurse nodded as she took note of what she said. She sighed, putting her pen down. "Don't worry about her. There no problem at all."

Yashiro believed her act although the rest knew better. There was a certain glint in her eyes. A certain twinkle that told them that she didn't tell them the exact truth. She was hiding something from them.

"Do you want to go now?" Yashiro asked Ren who was still observing Miya. "We can stay if you want to."

"No need for that," he replied casually. "If we stay here, the press might notice. Besides, I still have a photo shoot to attend to." Ren turned to the other two girls. "Both of you should just come with me to LME. I have a feeling that the president would want to hear what had happened straight from the source."

They gave each other a curious glance but decided to follow the actor anyway. They didn't want, after all, to raise anymore chaos with this little accident.

Unfortunately, they didn't know how much chaos this incident could stir up.

* * *

After everyone had left, Miya quickly made her way to Kyoko's room. The doctors no longer needed her there. And she did promise the girl that she'd give the address to her.

_Saena, I hope you know what you're doing,_ she sighed._ Your daughter might not accept the truth._

She reached the room. Knocking twice, she entered. Kyoko was ready to go, looking energetic as ever.

"Here you go, Mogami-san," Miya politely told her, handing her the paper with her mother's address on it.

"Thank you," Kyoko muttered shyly, still hooked on her bed. "You can call me Kyoko-chan, Sasaki-san. I am younger in reality."

She bowed. "Alright Kyoko-chan. It's just that, are you sure you want to get out now?"

Kyoko nodded. "I want to know the answers now. And if I'm correct, this address was my former apartment down town. I can get there."

"Be careful, Kyoko-chan," she warned her. "I told your friends that we can't release you yet. I'll get the blame when they find out."

Laughing half-heartedly, Kyoko turned towards the door. "See you another time, Sasaki-san."

Miya watched Kyoko's retreating figure as she walked through the door. Silence conquered the area, hearing nothing but the faint beat of her heart. She followed the girl outside. Casting one last look at her back, she smiled to herself and went back to work.

_And the pursuit for the truth begins now._


	5. Remorse

_Kaorin71: Chapter 5! The end of Saena-and-Kyoko arc! Well, sort of. The next chapters are going to be focused on Kyoko and the others, like when Kanae and Ren…. But that's for you to find out! And, oh yeah, thanks to those who reviewed! It's a nice inspiration for me to write! Again, please R&R!_

_P.S: About Kyoko… she doesn't have Huntingson's disease. It's relatively the same but this one's more painful to bear… it's in this chapter if you want to find out._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat. I own only the Original Characters…

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**Chapter 5: Remorse**

Blaring horns in the streets never sounded so deafening. Kyoko's senses must've enhanced. Even the red light up ahead shone brightly, as if it could blind her in a flash. Thinking became a burden to her. Touching something became unbearable. Moving became a pain.

She walked in the cold streets of Tokyo. No one minded her, of course. She wasn't that popular anyway. To most of them, she was just an average girl making her through the busy crowds of the city. An average girl who has a very noticeable wound on her head.

Even though they had wrapped her forehead with some kind of gauze, Kyoko couldn't help but feel, sometimes, the blood oozing out of her stitched up cut. It didn't help that her mind was reeling.

Up ahead, she saw the apartment building. Great. Only a few more steps to her grave. By the time she gets there, maybe she'll collapse at the front steps. Or she could get into a car accident because of that nauseous sensation that comes to her. Either way sounds too melancholic.

At last, after what seemed like walk across hell, she reached the said building. Not much changed. The same boring background. This place was that horrid area. The area where she would wait for Shoutaro until midnight only to find out that he was playing with another woman. Damn it, she had to concentrate on her main motive here.

This room. This is the one. Kyoko stood before the entrance for a brief moment. Without further hesitation, she calmly knocked on the door three times.

No answer.

Again, she knocked. Still no answer. She twisted the knob. To her surprise, it was open. Why would her mother leave the entrance like that? Was she expecting her?

She walked deeper inside the room. The same appliances were still there. The kitchen counter was still the same. The television where Sho watched his favorite reality shows. And a rice cooker tucked in the corner. Did they have a rice cooker before?

Every corner, Kyoko checked. Every place that she thought her mother could fit in, she peeked. And one conclusion formed in her weary mind as she finished inspecting the surroundings.

Saena wasn't there.

Her foot collapsed underneath her. She found herself kneeling down on the floor, eyes focusing on the environment around her. It was all nostalgic. Nothing at all changed. And her motive has been dashed. Because what she came for wasn't there. Her pursuit was a waste of time.

Slowly, she stood up. She groggily made her way to the entrance again. No use waiting there all night. Saena probably left Tokyo in the morning.

The door, Kyoko saw, opened. She flinched, not expecting someone to come into the room. She shouldn't have left that open after all. Backing away, she pressed herself to the wall. Instead of a psychologically disturbed maniac, which was who Kyoko thought came in, Saena entered the apartment. Both were surprised by each one's abrupt appearance. Silence seemed to last forever and it was Saena who broke it.

"Kyoko," she said, almost a whisper. "You came?"

Kyoko swallowed hard. "I want to find out. Why is this happening?"

Saena, Kyoko observed, almost seemed regretful as she gestured her to sit down on the floor of the living room. She sat down across the hard floor. Her mother looked relieved yet at the same time, unsure.

"You had another accident?" Saena asked. Probably because of the large wound on her forehead.

Nodding, Kyoko sighed. "I don't understand anything. Why, of all times, is this happening now?"

"I told you, I had my reason for leaving you," Saena said, bowing her head a bit. "Not that I didn't want you as a daughter. Knowing something painful as this, I couldn't bring myself to love you as my child. I couldn't believe that you would disappear even before me."

All traces of weariness vanished from Kyoko's face. "I'm going to - I still can't understand."

"Yes, you can't. I didn't understand at first, too." Saena paused. Kyoko thought she had to urge her mother to keep going. Then, she continued. "Spinocerebellar degeneration is such a rare disease to inherit. But it came."

"Spinocer -" Kyoko didn't quite catch the words. "Disease. It's a disease. What about Spino something?"

She exhaled. "Spinocerebellar degeneration. It's a type of disease that targets the brain neurons, as the doctor told me. Symptoms of this can be identified easily by professionals. When I had you tested back then, although it was almost unrecognizable, you were shown positive of it. You inherited it from your father."

"I inherited a disease from my father?" She asked softly, painfully.

Saena reluctantly agreed. "What happened to you this day and yesterday are just the start of it. I thought if I leave you, I could get some answers. Answers. Cure. Yet none of them I saw." She looked at her daughter. "Kyoko, you have this disease."

_Disease. Disease. This illness. Sickness. I have it?_ Kyoko choked. "Is that why you came back? To tell me that I'm sick? Is this the reason for all these weird sensations I get?"

Saena nodded at each question. Her eyes became hollow, lifeless. Life has seeped from her body. "Yes, it's true."

"Then let's go back to the hospital," Kyoko told her anxiously. "This can still be fixed, right? I can still get out of this." When she didn't get any response from her mother, she grew desperate. "How about father?"

"Your father died of this illness before you were born. That's why you never saw him."

Death. Will it come for her too? She's too young for that. It can't be. "How can you be sure that I have it? Maybe they had a mistake on checking. No one can be sure." Kyoko struggled to swallow back her tears. She stood up in desperate protest. "How could you know?"

"Kyoko!" Saena exclaimed loudly, making her flinch. She also stood up, her eyes brimming with tears. "Do you think I'm joking with you? Why would I kid about something this serious?" She gripped her wrists, to Kyoko's shock. "You felt it."

She tried to release her mother's grip from her. Squirming, she shook her head. "You're lying! It's not true. I'm not sick. I'm not!"

"Uncoordinated movement," Saena gasped, holding unto Kyoko's other wrist. She held her closer, never letting her grip loosen. "Your movements are not as coordinated as it was before. You know that."

"No. It's not -"

Frantically, she gripped Kyoko harder. She struggled for her to calm down. "When you tripped, you didn't react effectively. Your reflexes faded. That's why you fell head first. That's why you bled. Because you couldn't protect yourself with your arms. You couldn't move."

"I'm not -"

"You feel disoriented," Saena told her, nearly shouting. She pulled her tighter to her. "You couldn't figure out what movement you should do."

Crying hard, Kyoko thrashed about. Hot tears have trickled down her soft cheeks, slowly making its way down her face. She felt too weak to fight anymore - too weak to deny the truth. She whimpered, "I - I'm not going to die. Not now."

Saena hugged her daughter for the first time ever since she was a child. She whispered beside her ear, "I'm not going to let them take you yet. I'm going to take care of you."

"Is there a cure for this?" Asked Kyoko in a sob.

The mother held her daughter's head in front of her own. Fixating her gaze on her eyes, she remorsefully shook her head. Kyoko knew what it meant. Expressing it in words would make it unbearable.

A disease with no cure. None at all. The seventeen year old cried hopelessly. Death will follow.

_Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. _

She thought of the word until she couldn't make sense of it. Kyoko leaned against her mother's shoulders, sobbing continuously. "This disease… why did it choose me? Of all the persons in the world, why me? Why…"

"Kyoko." After a few silent whimpers, she reluctantly loosened her grip on her. She carefully wiped tears from Kyoko's face. "Don't worry. Never lose hope. Live life to the fullest. Treat each day as the last. Treasure every moment."

Kyoko agreed. "Mother, please don't tell anyone about this." Saena looked at her, confused. Kyoko remained calm yet she was still sobbing. Because her life won't last any longer. "I don't want everyone mourning at the last moments of my life. Moko-san, Amamiya-san, Maria-chan, my Okami-san and the Daruma-ya Boss. Even Tsuruga-san."

Saena, though hesitant, had to promise that to her. To fill the gap she had left when she 'abandoned' Kyoko, she has to take care of Kyoko until that time. The time to leave this world. So that when that time comes, she will never regret her decision.

"Let's go back to Kyoto," Saena proposed, getting Kyoko's attention. "You'll live peacefully there. Until - until you leave."

To this request, Kyoko had to disagree. "I'm sorry mother. I want to continue my life now. If I were to die any moment from now, I'd be happier being with them all. My friends and those people who took me in when you weren't there."

"Kyoko -"

"I want to face this," she explained sincerely. "I don't want to run away. Because if I do…" She let herself pause before continuing. "… there's no more chance to make up for it."

Saena, in spite of what had been their mood, smiled. Her daughter has been raised well. Brave, willing and hopeful. She didn't have to worry about her after all. "You do what you want to do. I'll be here with you."

"Thanks." Kyoko, with tears on her angelic face, smiled brightly.

After all that drama and explaining, Saena felt to tired to argue with her. And why would she argue to her daughter's last request? She stretched and motioned for Kyoko to stand. "You have to rest now. But we have to stop by the hospital first. We have to take care of something."

Nothing else to do, Kyoko nodded. Her face was still marked with dry tears as she stood up, yawned and followed her mother outside the apartment. She knew she wouldn't be able to think well, knowing that at any hour soon she may die. Death will come to her and there's no more choice but to face it. Having a disease without a cure is like having your heart ripped apart.

_Tomorrow, I shall live on, _she told herself. _Until the last hour comes, I will be happy. So when the time comes, I will not be regretful…_


	6. Comfort

_Kaorin71: Sixth chappy! Hurray! I never thought I'd reach this many. Well, maybe I did. But, anyway, for those who're reading this, please continue with the reviews! R&R!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat….

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**Chapter 6: Comfort**

"Mogami-san, are you still feeling fine?" Miya asked the girl sitting at the bed.

Kyoko shook her head. "No, I'm okay. I've been losing balance and coordination for sometime now but it's not that serious."

Miya managed a half smile. "If you say so. Then I'm just going to leave you now. You can call if you happen to need anything." She pivoted from her position and started towards the door.

"Ah, Sasaki-san," Kyoko choked out, her voice still strained from all the crying she did earlier. "Mother said you two knew each other well back when both of you were in university. Can you tell me some stories about, um, mother? And..." She hesitated, not sure if she would want to know or not.

"Your father?" Miya finished for her. She looked up from the floor and nodded shyly. This time, the nurse laughed. "Well, sure. That is, if you really want to. What do you want to know then? But it might not be appropriate for your age if I tell you everything. I mean, Saena and Aki, they're kind of - how do I say it? Maybe impulsive?"

Kyoko glanced at the nurse meekly. She hadn't really cared about what her mother and father's love life was like. Not until an hour ago when her mother told her the most horrible news she had heard in her entire life. That she was afflicted with a terminal disease. Spino - whatever its name. That she had inherited it from her father.

Yet, even when she knew that it was her father who gave her that disease, she wanted to know about him. It was like someone flipped a switch inside her. All this time, she had been wondering why her mother hated her so much. Why she wouldn't love her. She thought that her mother was just an emotionless evil creature. But the truth is, her mother cared for her more than anyone else. Saena loved her it was just that she couldn't express it. Knowing that your daughter's going to die soon, how can she?

Although reluctant, Kyoko asked, "How did father and mother cope with it?"

Miya's smile faded, replaced with a solemn expression. "It wasn't easy, I'm telling you. Your father, Aki, found out about it too late. It was already in a very critical stage. Yet, he refused to listen to the doctor and seclude himself in a hospital. Because he couldn't leave you and your mother alone."

Kyoko nodded at this statement. When Miya saw that she won't reply, she continued. "You see, you're father was an extrovert. And very active. He was in the school's tennis varsity team, if I'm not mistaken. A lot of girls liked him for his skills, brains and his looks. But he liked only one girl. Your mother, that is. It kind of surprised everyone at that time since Saena was this very private person who rarely talks. It also shocked me because..." Miya blushed a bit. "...well, I kinda had a crush on him back then."

"When did they find out about it?" Asked Kyoko. "I mean the disease."

Miya looked at the door, making sure that no one was listening in to their crucial conversation. "They didn't find out quickly. It was a string of events. At first, Aki was real fine. Then he started feeling disoriented whenever he walks or when he does some chores. He started tripping and falling without any reasons. His hand would suddenly stop when he's writing. That's when Saena got suspicious. She inquired to me about what was happening. I, on the other hand, researched for a bunch of disorders which has any relation to those symptoms. I came across Spinocerebellar degeneration disease and the rest, as they say, is history."

_A string of events, _Kyoko thought, shuddering. She said that there were only slight symptoms at first. It was starting to show. Then what? She'll have to get assistance just to walk without tripping? Will she be unable to write anymore? Will she turn completely useless? Will she become a burden to everyone around her?

The more Kyoko thought about it, the more it scared her. She was probably going to be crippled. When that happens, she won't be able to move around anymore. And to act. She won't be able to go into showbiz anymore. Was this what her mother meant when she said that this life was not for her? To no longer be able to do the thing you want the most...

A tear slid down her face. Yes, she won't be able to work when this disease progresses. She will have to calmly turn away from the world she has grown to love. She will have to sacrifice her own happiness just to protect her loved ones from finding out this horrible truth. She won't be able to see all her friends. Maria. Hiou. Chiori. President Takarada. Kanae. Ren. All of them will disappear from her life.

"Mogami-san," Miya whispered, seeing the girl's remorse. No matter what she would tell her, she knew Kyoko wouldn't cheer up. She could not offer her anything that can replace the value of her own life.

"Sasaki-san, should I just die now?" She asked, sobbing slightly.

"No!" She almost screamed this out. Her eyes turned from calm to hurt and she quickly bent down, grasping Kyoko's shoulder. "Why would you want to die? A great actress like you? Absolutely not. I've seen some of your shows and I loved them. Do you want all those to go to waste by giving up?"

She shook her head wildly. "No. I've worked hard for those. I liked all those. But I'm going to die anyway. Mother said there's no cure for this illness. What's the point of lengthening the grief of everyone? What's the point of living longer when it only hurts those whom you treasure the most?"

"Mogami-san, listen to me," Miya slowly said, directly staring into her eyes. "Why do you think are you alive? Isn't it because it's your fate? And why are you an actress? Isn't it because that's what you dreamed of? Now, why are you fighting this disease? Isn't it because you don't want your loved ones to grieve over you? Isn't it because you still want to live on?"

"I do want to live on," Kyoko said. "Yes, I want to make everyone happy. I'm here because my fate is to be an actress. I dreamt to be one. Yet, by fighting like this, by living longer, would it change things? I can still live but I will carry this burden. My burden will become theirs. I don't..." Kyoko stopped when fresh tears sprang up again. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting hot tears trickle down her face. "I don't want to become a burden to them. Especially to mother."

Seeing her like that made Miya emotional. Despite herself, she hugged the girl. At least this way she can make Kyoko feel that she wasn't alone on the path she chose. "You won't be burden. If those people truly love you, they won't think of you as a load. They'll help you fight and they will be your strength. You will gain the power to live on from them. Your mother never once told me anything bad about you. Only praises. And as your mother will always be here for you, so am I."

Her face felt hot as she heard what the nurse said. She suddenly had this urge to cry. Biting her tongue, she tried to stop her tears. Her sobbing only grew louder. Crying continuously, she grasped the woman in front of her. Miya didn't mind; she knew that comforting her was a little thing compared to what she must be feeling then. She almost felt happy at that moment. Even though she did not have any children of her own, this girl in front of her certainly made her feel like a mother.

Miya gently patted the girl's back. If she feeling upset over this then Saena must be experiencing hell. After all, she was Kyoko's mother. How can a mother accept easily the fact that her own daughter was going to leave this world earlier than her? Knowing fully well that your daughter might just die every passing second, how can a mother think of herself? Surely Saena was a hundred times devastated than her.

Reluctantly, she released her hold on Kyoko. She wanted to stick around to comfort the girl. But she had her job to do. She can't just seclude herself in there with Kyoko. Grabbing her clipboard, Miya stood up. She wiped the actress's tears away with her handkerchief then handed it to her. "Mogami-san, I'm sorry but I have to go. I'll come back later if you plan on staying. Or I can pass by your apartment." She managed a smile. "Please continue to shine. Don't give up on your dreams."

Taking one last glance at Kyoko, she stood up straight and turned her back on her. She steadily walked on her high heels, making her way towards the door.

Before Miya went out of the room, Kyoko called on her. "Sasaki-san."

The nurse immediately looked back at Kyoko's tear-stained face. Kyoko shuffled on the seat, trying to find the right words to say. "Uhm… I'm, er… thank you for sticking around and comforting me. It was helpful. And thanks for telling me that I'm, ah, important to you."

Smiling, she said, "It's nothing much. I just told you the truth."

She started walking out again but Kyoko stopped her once more. "If you don't mind, Sasaki-san, may I ask a question?"

"Alright."

"What was the name of that disease? I couldn't quite get it."

"It's Spinocerebellar degeneration."

"Spinocellar…"

"Spino then cerebellar."

Kyoko's brows came together. "Spinocellar… celery… cerebellar…"

Amused by her, Miya laughed a bit. "You're getting it. Just practice a little more and you'll be able to remember it." She held the door open then halted. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure your father's going to be proud of you when that happens."

A question mark was plastered on her face. "What do you mean?"

She chuckled. "Your father never got the name right. If he was still alive, I'm sure he'll drift in ecstasy when he hears it."

"Oh." So her father was that kind of a person.

"See 'ya," she bid goodbye as she finally got out of the room. Once outside, she sighed deeply and walked towards Saena who was sitting on the chair beside the room.

Saena was too busy thinking to sense Miya's approach. She was startled when Miya suddenly sat down on the chair beside her. Then she saw her friend's wrinkled-up and tear-stained clothing. Immediately, Saena switched to her worried-to-death-mother mode.

"What happened? Is Kyoko still alright? Is she alive? Did she say something to you? Is..." The questions seemed to come out in a continuous string from her mouth.

"Saena, calm down," she told her. "You sound more anxious than the one who's going to die. Cool it for a second. Kyoko's safe and sound. She's grieving but other than that, she's far from dying."

Hearing those words, she sighed in relief. She slumped back to her seat, looking down at her feet. "Sorry about that. It's just... I can't not worry over her. I left her, you know and now here I am, telling her that she's about to die. I sound like a shinigami."

"You're not her shinigami," Miya said, glancing side wards. "If she's going to be taken from this world, it'll be Aki who'd come for her."

"Misa-chi!"

"Okay, he's not coming," she groaned. "And please stop calling me Misa-chi. I'm too old for that nickname."

"No one's too old for anything."

"Fine." Giving up, Miya stood up. "You wanna go out? There's a restaurant at the back of this hospital."

"Won't they search for you?"

"No way," she confidently declared. "They rarely need me here. Besides, I bribed my boss…"

"Misa-chi!" Saena uttered again, disbelief over her face.

"Okay, okay. I was just joking. Sheesh, Saena. Get a grip. Let's go."

Miya strode off. Saena, staring at her vanishing figure, exhaled. She cast one last look towards Kyoko's room before she decided to head after her friend. She hoped getting out of the hospital would help her calm herself. If only all of this mess was a dream, she could just wake up from it. To escape the horrible future that awaits her and her daughter.

_If only…

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Meanwhile, as Saena and Miya headed off outside the building, Kyoko sat dazed in her room. For the past ten minutes, she tried practicing repeating the name of that explicitly-hard-to-pronounce disease that afflicted her. Unfortunately, as soon as her mind drifted into far away thoughts, she immediately forgot about the word and thus getting frustrated.

Kyoko stood up, groaning as she stretched her body. Who knew crying would be so tiring? She paced back and forth at the room, trying to get herself to think about positive things instead of her nearing death. Well, at least she still has her work to occupy her thoughts. But what would happen when the time for her to leave showbiz comes? Kyoko shook her head. Right now, she shouldn't care. She'll only think of positive thoughts. Positive. Positive, positive, positive...

The door slightly opened, squeaking loudly. Kyoko nearly jumped from her skin. Why was that door so loud?

Kyoko heard raises voices from the corridor. A woman's voice was clearly heard, distress covering it.

"Is my girl okay?" The voice from outside asked. She guessed it was a concerned parent.

"Nothing seems to be wrong with her today," another voice replied. A thick, baritone voice. "Her statistics are still intact. But please don't expect much. As early as now, I'm telling you that her disease is almost impossible to cure. There's only .001% that she'll be able to conquer the illness."

"Doctor," the first voice said, sounding desperate. "Can't you do something?"

There was a low sigh. "I believe there's no other way to cure her. You can take her to a specialist if you want. Although…" The voice stopped short. There was a loud series of coughing after it. Then he cleared his throat. "I don't think that she will be able to endure the treatment seeing that she's so young. I'm sorry."

"But -"

"I'm sorry, miss."

Silence followed. A shuffling of feet echoed from the hallways. Even if the door was only slightly opened, Kyoko could hear the woman's sob. It must've been the patient's parent. To be told that your daughter is a hopeless case directly by a doctor, it must've been unbearable. Heart-breaking even.

Kyoko's heart ached. Was that what her mother was experiencing? Was she suffering because of her? Then again, her father also had the same disease. Did it hurt her to know that the most important person to her was about to cross to the afterlife? If so, then her mother must be in despair now. To lose your daughter in the same way as your husband, it would surely hurt.

A loud squeaking sound pierced the silence in the room. Again, Kyoko almost jumped up. Now she knows why hospitals are commonly the main setting in horror flicks. It's too scary to be alone in one giant room.

The actress peeked at the door to see who was there. She was quite surprised to find a little girl standing at the doorway, glancing carefully at her. Judging from her looks, the girl was about eight to nine years of age. The girl had golden yellow hair and brilliant jade green eyes which seemed to glow with anticipation. She stood there, watching her with big, innocent eyes.

"Um, hello," she greeted the little lady before her.

The girl smiled at her. "Hello, miss. You're the actress named Kyoko Mogami, right?"

Happy that the girl knew who she was, she smiled back. "You know me?"

"Of course. You're that actress in LME who's linked with Fuwa-san."

Her smile vanished. "Fuwa-san?"

"Yep," she said enthusiastically. "Sho Fuwa. He's that singer from Akatoki." Then the girl went up to Kyoko, holding a small package on her palms. She thrust the box unto her. "Which reminds me, Mogami-sama. I wanna give you this."

Bending down, Kyoko gently reached out and took the package from her. "What's this for?"

She mumbled a polite thank you to her. Raising her palms close to her face, she observed the carefully wrapped box. It was covered with a glittery pink wrapper, a plush red bow topping it off. She fumbled with it for a few seconds before finally pulling the bow off. Lifting the lid off, she excitedly took a peek inside. She expected it to be something really cute, like a miniature doll or some adorable accessories or something a child was expected to give.

What she didn't expect, though, was a gray rat pinching her nose.

Startled, she leapt back. The box dropped on the tiled floor, thudding softly. It collapsed and the rat hastily crawled out. It raised it head as if observing her. Then it went on its way towards the girl, who in turn picked it up and cradled it tenderly.

Still recovering from shock, Kyoko squeaked, "Where'd you get that?"

Looking offended, she said, "He has a name, you know. Neko-sama here is my cute pet. I found him running through my room earlier so I decided to give him to you."

_She named the mouse neko-sama… _Kyoko had to suppress a laugh. Though she was still confused by the fact that this girl gave her a mouse. "Why did you give me that?"

"Because I don't like you."

"…"

Again, she glanced at the girl. She possessed a very angelic face as opposed to her devilish attitude. Now, Kyoko realized what the hidden meaning of her smile is. It showed pure malevolence.

"Why don't you like me?"

Her grin completely disappeared, replaced by a mocking expression. "You ask me why. There's only one reason. It's because you keep attaching yourself to my beloved Sho-chan. I won't let someone like you get the heart of my darling."

_What? _The actress didn't know what to think about what she said. Sho-chan? Beloved? Darling? Did all hell break loose while she was crying her eyes out? What was happening to the world? She couldn't believe that bastard could even capture the innocent heart of this sweet - once sweet now bitter girl. What's next? Are all men going to go gay and worship him?

"Are you sure that Sho-chan is your beloved… darling?" Kyoko reminded herself to wash her tongue afterwards for mentioning that devil's name.

Her voice turned ominous, almost threatening. "Yep. And I'll do everything to get him. Everything."

_"Even if it means taking a certain someone's life…"_


	7. Secrecy

_Kaorin71: Chapter seven's here! I hope this will make up for the crappy chapter six. For those who continue to review, thanks a lot! A appreciate it! By the way, starting next week, it'll be our project making and submission week. In other words, here comes hell. I guess I won't be updating for a while… *sigh*_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat…

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**Chapter 7: Secrecy**

"Yep. And I'll do everything to get him. Everything. Even if it means taking a certain someone's life…"

"Wait," Kyoko interrupted her, waving her hand wildly in front of her. "Are you sure about that? Do you really mean that? You really like that bastard?"

She turned offensive. "What do you mean 'that bastard'? Sho-chan is a wonderful and generous guy. He's the nicest man there is! If it were possible, I'd want him to be my husband."

In one smooth motion, Kyoko stooped down and grabbed the girl's shoulders. She pressed her down, staring at her intently. Some of her demons started wavering and wriggling out of the angels' grasps. The girl looked a little stunned at the action she did and froze in her place, eyes wide in fear.

When Kyoko spoke, it was filled with poison. "Sho Fuwa is not a_ wonderful_ and _generous_ guy. He's not also a person you can associate _'nice'_ with. He is the sneakiest, most devious playboy living on this world. Do not let the devil ensnare your thoughts."

"He's not devious," she replied, voice quivering. It was clearly seen that she was feared Kyoko somehow. "Why are you so against him? Don't you love him also?"

"I _used _to love that retard. Yet that was a long time ago. It even feels like it's been decades. That man is not as perfect as you think. He says he doesn't like reality shows when he actually throws laughing fits by watching them. He makes you think that he's a cool guy when he's actually a damn idiot who can't take care of himself. He tells you he only eats first class food when his favorite food is a little store-bought pudding. He's a good liar, I'll give him that."

She shook her head. "How can you know that? It's not like you grew up with him."

"Oh yes I did. In fact, I can tell you exactly what happened." She leaned closer to her face. "But if you want to know, it'll take three days and three nights, divided in three horrible arcs. Do you still want to know?"

Again, she shook her head. Kyoko exhaled then stood up straight. She looked down at the girl. She, on the other hand, glared daggers at the actress. Running towards the door, she turned back, stuck her tongue out and went on outside. Kyoko pouted. _The world really has gone crazy..._

Exhausted from all the crying she did earlier, she sat down on the bed. No sooner than that did her phone start to ring. Groaning loudly, she bent over the bed and extended her hand to the table beside it, snatched the phone then answered it. "Hello."

"Nee-chan?"

The voice took Kyoko by surprise. Since when did she start calling her? "Maria-chan? Is something wrong?"

"Uhm," Maria stalled, looking to the others for help. No one offered to give her a hand, though, so she had to answer truthfully. "I was just going to ask if you're fine now. Ren-sama said that you, uhm, got into an accident."

"Accident, huh," Kyoko whispered, nearly choking on her own voice as she remembered what had happened in LME earlier that day. "No worries. I'm fine. But, Maria-chan, how did you know my number? Especially now that it's almost twelve midnight."

Maria looked behind her for help again. After the incident with Kyoko, Kanae and Chiori had gone to the president to report what had happened. They did and, well, the president became hysterical. And to add to their misfortune, he wouldn't let them leave, saying that they were the star witnesses and so on. Hours later, Ren finished his photo shoot and had come into the room with his manager, Yashiro, to talk about the incident. That's when Maria arrived and heard everything. Being the worried little sister she is, she immediately borrowed Ren's phone and called. But now that she's talking with Kyoko, she couldn't think of anything to say.

Kanae, sleepy and pissed off, was slouched on one of the president's sofas. Chiori was beside her, yawning. Yashiro sat on one of the chairs in front of the desk, tapping on the wood nervously. Ren paced back and forth, worry lines evident on his face. Lory was on his 'throne' -that's what he calls his chair- thinking deeply.

Covering the phone with one hand, Maria called for help. "What should I say?"

"Ask her if she's fine or if she got a concussion," Kanae told her, waving a hand in the air. Then she sat upright, turning her full attention to the girl. "Doesn't that thing have a loud speaker or whatever so we can hear what she's saying?"

Ren stopped pacing for a while, hearing Kanae's question. "Maybe it does. Maria-chan, can I borrow it for a second?"

The little girl obeyed, handing him the phone. Ren fumbled with the device, changing the settings on it. After a while, a high-pitched sound came from the phone then the sound of what seemed like Kyoko's shallow breathing came through.

"Maria-chan?" Kyoko asked, wondering where the girl went.

On the other line, all of them heard her question. Who knew that there was that kind of setting? The actor immediately handed it back to the eager little girl. Maria then spoke up. "Ah, nee-san. I borrowed Ren-sama's cell phone. And grandfather said it's fine for me to stay up this late as long as I still do well in my school works."

"So Tsuruga-san's with you?"

"Yep," she replied. "I'm inside grandfather's office now."

"I see," Kyoko said, walking up to the windows. She could see her mother struggling to keep up with Miya as they entered a restaurant. Smiling to herself, she began to relax.

Maria choked on her next question. "Nee-san, will you be able to work again? I mean, Kotonami-san said you had a concussion."

Over the phone, Kyoko heard Kanae scream "I did not say that!" Her smile vanished, replaced by indecision. What will she say now? If they were worrying about her just because of a simple concussion, how much more if they knew her real condition? What could she possibly tell them?

Kyoko wasn't sure how to answer that. So she gave as truthful an answer she could give her. "There wasn't any concussion, just… a slight disorientation. They told me I'd be tripping up and freezing up a lot from now on because of that."

"What does that mean?" Maria seems to have tons of questions to inquire to her.

Scratching the back of her head, she said, "Well, that means I'll be having trouble moving fast. Because if I force myself, they said what happened today might repeat. But I'll still be working and acting so there's no need to worry."

"Ah." Somehow, Maria understood what that meant.

"Hey," Kanae whispered to the girl. "Ask her where she is now."

Nodding, Maria did just that. "Nee-chan, Kotonami-san wanted to know where you are now."

Once again, she heard Kanae scream on the other line. It was something like "Why did you tell her I asked that?" Kyoko let herself giggle at her friend's concern. "I'm still here in the hospital. The nurse, Sasaki-san, is really kind to me. They're treating me fine so no need for worries."

All of them appeared to notice Kyoko's repetition of the phrase "No need to worry." Although almost no one took this seriously, except for Ren and the president. They managed to catch in Kyoko's tone that something was definitely wrong.

A thought suddenly popped into Lory's mind. He quickly called Maria, wanting to get her attention. "Psst."

Maria turned to her grandfather. In her mind, she was pouting. Why did she have to act as their messenger? Nonetheless, she still paid attention to Lory. "What is it, grandfather?"

The others still felt weird having to hear their love-addicted president being called grandfather. But Lory pretended to ignore them. "Give me the phone."

She gladly gave the device to him. After all, she only wanted to know if her beloved nee-chan was alright, not to play messenger to all of them. Maria then trudged up to one of the sofas and dropped down.

Lory, on the other hand, became serious. _No fooling around this time,_ he thought. "Mogami-san, what happened that other day? Didn't you faint while talking to your mother that time?"

Now that seemed to catch everyone's attention. Even Ren's. Apparently Kyoko forgot to inform anyone about it. It was already weird that she fainted without any reason. Weirder than that was the fact that she was talking to her mother. Most of everyone in the room knew that Kyoko's mother hated her. So why would she be having a friendly chat with her?

Kyoko suddenly became anxious. _Crap,_ she thought. _Of all the questions they could ask, why this one? _"About that. Uhm… Sawara-san just told me that she came to talk to me. Then I went to her… and that… I just fainted. The doctors told me that it was just because I'm overworking myself."

"Uhuh." No way was he buying that excuse. "What did she talk to you about?"

Another taboo topic. Can she get any more unfortunate as this? "She went by to tell me that she was taking me back to Kyoto. That she's taking custody of me again. And she told me about my father…"_ And also that I'm about to die,_ she added in her mind.

"Your father?"

Oh. Another major slip up. "Uhhh…"

"Mogami-san, what about your father?" Lory persistently asked. He was acting like a predator that was cornering his prey.

The president's room became quiet as they waited for an answer from the other line. There was a slight hesitation in Kyoko's tone when she mentioned about her father earlier. That alone made them curious. But their awaited answer turned out to be an obvious excuse.

"Uh, could you just forget that I ever said that?" Kyoko pleaded nervously.

At that point, her best friend couldn't take her secrecy anymore. She jumped up from the couch and snatched the phone away from Lory. Then in a high and angry voice, she said, "Kyoko, if you don't tell us in ten seconds what the hell is going on then I'm ending our friendship!"

A sound which could be interpreted as a horrified gasp came from Kyoko's lips. No way will she let that happen. She can't break her bond with Kanae, not now that she was about to die. But she also can't expose the secret. They might worry too much if she tells them.

"Moko-san…"

Kyoko was preparing to make a speech about how she can't reveal a very dangerous secret about herself when the door of her room opened. The actress looked behind her. She felt her eyes widen when she saw Saena sauntering towards her absent-mindedly, holding a Styrofoam container in one hand. Her blood immediately ran cold, and she gave the quickest excuse that she could even think of.

"Moko-san, I'm sorry but I have to call you later. The nurse is here and I have to rest because I think a headache is coming up," Kyoko babbled, gesturing at her mother to stay silent. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later so I'll just hang up."

"Kyo-"

"I understand your concerns but I have to go," she cut her off, wanting to hang up yet she can't. It has been her habit to say polite goodbye before hanging up. "Goodby-"

Just then, Saena decided to talk, unaware of the situation. "Kyoko, who's that on the phone? Another friend?"

Kyoko glanced urgently at her mother. "It's, um, some minor phone call. I'm about to hang up."

Unfortunately for her, those guys at the opposite line heard that voice. Lory had already guessed who that person was. The rest, however, were still in the dark and thought that it was her nurse who talked.

Kanae got even more furious. "Kyoko, I'll-"

"Okay, love you. Bye!" She said idiotically, ending the call. Then she turned her phone off, placed it on the desk and she plopped down on the bed.

Saena walked towards her bed and sat down beside her. "Who called?"

Groaning, she replied. "A friend from work. She'll kill me when she finds me tomorrow."

Nodding uncertainly, Saena handed her the Styrofoam container. Inside it was some chicken sandwich. It looked like chicken sandwich to Kyoko. But she ate it anyway. As she ate, she thought of how long she can hide the truth from everyone.

_I have to be careful,_ Kyoko sighed. _There's no telling when I'll slip up. And the president knows too much. He's too keen, too smart. I'll have to be conscious around him. Also Tsuruga-san. Because when they find out, I can no longer stay here. I'll have to heed mother's words. _

_I'll have to go back to Kyoto._

"You don't have to worry so much," Saena told her, seeing her expression. "I've already told the doctor never to give any information about you to anyone. Everything will be alright."

_I hope you're right,_ Kyoko sighed, lying down on the bed to sleep. _I hope so._


	8. Resentment

_Kaorin71: Yeah, here's chapter eight. To tell you guys the truth, I'm being attacked by my writer's block again so this chapter may look, er, weird. Ren hating Kyoko is weird… Oh well. One more thing. I might not update often now because I'm running out of ideas for this story and a lot of ideas are popping up for another story. But I'm definitely gonna continue this so please be patient…_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat!

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**Chapter 8: Resentment**

"It's just around the corner," Kyoko told her, pointing to a building. "There's some area behind that parking lot. You can drop me off there."

Her mother raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure? I could drive you to LME if you want."

Shaking her head, Kyoko picked up her handbag. "No, okaa-san. I need to get as little attention as possible. If people see me getting off an unknown car, they'll get curious. They'll investigate. If they do, they might find out."

Saena, although reluctant, did as her daughter told her. She rounded one corner and then they arrived at a secluded part behind that building. No one was around, giving them an advantage. Kyoko swiftly bid a whispered goodbye to her mother as she scooped her bag to her arms, opened the door and got out. She stretched her body for a while, feeling a little cramped because of what had happened to her recently.

The front door of the car opened and her mother came out. The worry lines were evident on her face. She extended her hands to the girl. Kyoko held her palm out as a reflex. Then Saena dropped some keys unto her hands. There were two of them, one medium sized and one small key.

Kyoko observed the object on her palm. "What are these for?"

"The small one is the key to my apartment," she replied, pointing to it. "If ever you want to go there, you can use that. I'm sure no matter how much I plead, you're still going to live in the Daruma-ya."

The young actress took her words into consideration. Yep, her mother was right. She'll still be at the Daruma-ya. She can't leave that place yet. There was still some time left.

"The other one is a car key," Saena interrupted her thoughts. She was now pointing to the medium sized key. "Be sure to keep that or else you won't be able get in the car."

"I don't have a license," Kyoko told her. Her face grew solemn. "And I'm not allowed to have one. I might cause an accident."

"I'm not letting you get a license anyway. I hired a private driver for you, if that's what you're worried about."

Again, Kyoko was shocked. Last night, she found out that while her mother was away from her, she found a way to make a living. Not only did she make a living but she turned big time, too. Saena mentioned that she had some 'private' business, but assured her that it was not yakuza/mafia related.

Amused by her daughter's reaction, she took out a phone from her purse and held it out to Kyoko. "Take this."

She gladly accepted it. "Now what's this one for?"

"It's your new phone. Your driver's number is in there so you can call him if you think you can't walk home." Saena saw her open her mouth to protest so she quickly explained. "As for your old phone, I threw it away. I transferred your friends' numbers in that device, if you were going to ask."

Pouting, Kyoko kept the device in her bag. "It's not fair. You're spoiling me, okaa-san."

"I want to make up for my past mistakes," she said. "And I don't have any more time with you. It's running out."

Kyoko knew what she meant. Before they shift into some uncomfortable topics, she bid goodbye to her mother. Saena just nodded as she went in her car and drove off, leaving her alone in that place. Kyoko took a deep breath in, repeating in her mind that she will not let what happened yesterday ruin her mood. She had to stay happy and vigorous so that the others wouldn't be worrying.

After thinking this through, Kyoko headed to LME. It was only a corner away so she didn't need to be bothered about getting into another accident. But as she made her way there, she thought about her acting career.

_Well, this might be my last shot at showbiz, knowing that I may die anytime, _she thought. _Sasaki-san told me that I was a special case. She said that this disease usually appear during adulthood. I wonder why I got it this early. I've been eating good and some vegetables. I didn't abuse my body. So why?_

Kyoko pondered long and hard. T_hey said that this Spinocele… disease was a progressive, degenerative condition. I think that's what they told me. And I think I also heard someone say that it could be inherited. Ugh, of all the things I could inherit from father, why this one? Did someone curse me?_

When she was some distance away from the entrance of LME, she saw a couple of people standing by the doorway. Blocking the entrance. Kyoko squinted at the figures, trying to figure out who they were. Based on their outfits and those cameras in their hands, Kyoko wrote them off as a couple of curious reporters. Some part of Kyoko got interested and wondered what they were doing there.

_Did some famous celebrity arrive?_ Kyoko thought eagerly. _Or did they get a new scoop on some cool actor? Or… maybe they found a fairy! _She nodded gleefully at the mere thought. _Yes, they might've spotted a fairy and chased it all the way here. Poor little fairy, getting caught in such a crowded place._

Thinking about that fictitious fairy, Kyoko wandered towards the crowd. They were all chatting at the same time, gesturing wildly with their arms. Everyone was equipped with a state-of-the-art camera which Kyoko thought was used to get a picture of the fairy. On their faces, one could see the eager but tense expressions.

Kyoko, not knowing anything about the situation, tapped one reporter at the shoulder. "Um, excuse me, what's happening here?"

"Ah, well…" The young man's voice trailed off as he saw the person who had tapped him. His eyes showed a mischievous glint, one that Kyoko thought was weird. As he realized who was in front of him, he called at the others in the group. "Hey, she's here! Kyoko-chan, the actress!"

Kyoko certainly didn't get where all of this was going. One minute, she asking a man in front of her what was occurring. Now, she was being bombarded by a lot of questions. Personal questions to be exact.

"Kyoko, why were you taken to the hospital yesterday?" One woman asked her, shoving a microphone up to her face.

She didn't know what to say. And the pressure of getting pushed around the crowd didn't help her. "Uh, that is…"

"Is it true that you got a slight concussion because someone pushed you down a staircase?" Another asked.

"No, I-"

"Did you faint the other day because you were pregnant?"

"Who is the father of the child? Is it Fuwa-san or Tsuruga-san?"

"When is the expected delivery of the child?"

_What, what, what? What child? When did I get pregnant? And why would that bastard be the father of it? Why did they think that Tsuruga-san would want to make out with an idiot like me?_ Kyoko screamed all these in her head, puzzled with the outrageous questions they gave her.

After what seemed to be an eternity of being shoved around the crowd, someone came to her rescue. A pair of strong hands grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from the murderous paparazzi. She didn't try to fight the man who grasped her body. Because even without looking at his face, she knew that it was him who had saved her.

"I'm sorry but interview's over," Ren told them, placing himself in between Kyoko and the crowd. His eyes were cold as he talked to the reporters. "There is no truth about the news that Mogami-san is pregnant. And I am not the father of that child, nor is Fuwa. She did faint the other day, but it is because she was overworking herself. Please stop sprouting irrelevant issues about her."

Some protested against him but it was no use. One by one, they went away, disappointed expressions on their faces. Others cursed him before they left. It was over and Kyoko got to sigh in relief.

She exhaled, turning to Ren. "Thanks for rescuing me, Tsuruga-san."

He looked at her blankly. "I was just saving my career. And those people were too noisy. It was only a coincidence that you were there."

Ren cast one more glance at her before he walked away. Kyoko gaped at his figure for a moment. What was that? Why was her sempai so cold to her? Did she do something that might've upset him?

Determined to fix the rift between them, she followed Ren. He still didn't acknowledge her presence beside him. That's when she decided to run in front of him and block his way.

She succeeded in getting Ren's attention though she also succeeded in pissing him off. "Mogami-san, I have to go to the president's office. If you don't get out of the way, I'll have to shove you aside."

"Why are upset?" Kyoko blurted out. "Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something wrong to you?"

Ren brushed her questions away. "I'm going now."

But Kyoko jumped in his way again. "Why are you keeping secrets from me now?"

She must've struck a nerve because Ren glared at her. "Tell me, Mogami-san, who's the one keeping secrets between the two of us?"

Terrified by his sudden outburst, Kyoko tripped and fell down on the floor. She has never seen him so angry until that moment. He looks even madder than that time when he found out her true motives for getting in showbiz. It was horrifying.

An exasperated sigh came from the actor. He turned his back to her, not bothering to help her up. He said, "Follow me. The president called for you. He wants to talk to you."

Still shaking, Kyoko stood up. Her knees buckled together, making it hard for her to walk straight. She felt totally horrified and cold. Her sempai, Ren Tsuruga, suddenly got mad for an unknown reason. Not only was he mad at her but he also _resented_ her. She worked so hard just to gain his trust but now it's all dashed away.

Walking carefully behind him, Kyoko searched her mind for some reason why he was acting like that._ Is it because of something I said? Did he find out that I was the rooster? Was that the secret he was talking about?_

As Kyoko thought more and more of this, it finally dawned to her what secret Ren was talking about. It was that secret about her having a terminal disease. Maybe Kanae told him that Kyoko wouldn't tell her what happened to her. Or maybe it was Maria. Either way, he still found out and is angry at her. No, scratch that. He positively _hates_ her now.

But that secret… she can't tell, can she? After all, if she tells them, they'll worry for her. They won't be able to take care of themselves because of her. Moreover, she'll become a burden to them. It was the last thing she would want to happen. To be heavy load on them.

Kyoko was thinking so hard that she didn't notice where Ren was leading her. It was the path to the Love-Me office. Him leading her to that place was weird. Why would he bring her there? Unless, of course, president Takarada is inside that room.

They arrived at the entrance of the room. Ren, although in a bad mood, knocked gently three times. No one responded. He knocked again, this time harder. Still no one answered. When he was sure no one would open the door, he twisted the knob and banged the door open. Kyoko cringed as she heard the sound of the door banging against the wall.

Inside the Love-Me office sat a raven haired girl. She was busy skimming the pages of her script. She didn't even look up when the door was opened and the actor came up to her. Kanae only noticed them when Ren cleared his throat. When she saw Kyoko behind Ren, she immediately grimaced.

Kanae went back to reading her script, saying, "What do you people want? I'm busy."

Kyoko caught the dismissive tone in her friend's voice. She wanted to run up to the older girl and hug her with all her might. But she was afraid what Kanae might do to her. Kyoko knew that the girl was also angry at her, just like the actor. That moment, she wanted to make up with them yet another part of her argued, saying that it wasn't the right time. In the end, that part won and she decided to let them cool their heads before apologizing.

"Come with me," the man said. "The president needs to have a word with you."

This piqued the interest of the actress. "The president? Why the hell would he want to talk to me?"

"Not only you," Ren told her. "He called for all of us. Three of us. He said he needed to say something important."

The girl grunted. But, although unwilling, she stood up and said, "Fine. I'll go."

All three of them went to the president's office. They walked outside the Love-Me room and wandered straight to the elevator. Ren and Kanae were walking extra fast, both ignoring the actress. Kyoko almost got left behind. Good thing there was another person in the lift who held the door open for her. She mumbled a silent thank you then went inside, shifting nervously beside the two.

Kyoko turned to her right. Kanae was there, pretending that she didn't exist. She tried calling the attention of the girl but only ended up receiving a piercing glare from the woman. Cringing, Kyoko turned away and focused her eyes in front of her.

To her left, Kyoko could hear Ren's steady breathing. She slightly turned just to get a peek at the actor. He was looking straight in front of him, totally forgetting that she was there. That action of his made Kyoko's heart ache. She wasn't used to being ignored and being treated so coldly by her beloved sempai. He was always so nice and helpful to her. Seeing him mad at her made her sad somehow.

Silence covered the area for about five minutes. No one spoke a word. No one uttered a statement. Only the man in front of her seemed to notice her existence there. He smiled at her; Kyoko smiled back. When he left the lift, she felt awfully anxious. She was all alone in the elevator with Kanae and Ren, two people who now hated her. It was probably the worse situation to get stuck in.

Finally, they reached their destination. The doors slowly opened, making a sound as it did so. Ren shoved Kyoko aside and went on. Kanae did the same. But unlike the cold-hearted Ren, she peered at the actress for a while. Kyoko saw her expression soften - for a mere second. Then she was back to I-hate-Kyoko mode and walked away, not waiting for her.

They got to the president's room entrance. The secretary told them to wait for a while, going inside to tell Lory about their presence. It was followed by twelve agonizing seconds. Kyoko managed to sigh when she came back and gestured for them to come in. The two had already gotten in, leaving Kyoko behind again. She would've called for them to wait up but she knew they wouldn't listen to her anyway. Kyoko just hoped that this meeting with the president would help her win them back.

_I hope he really would help me,_ Kyoko silently wished as she stepped in the room.


	9. Ocean Of Tears

_Kaorin71: Ninth chapter…. Another bore-me-to-death chapter… Seriously, I'm losing the initiative to write… Ugghhh… But I'm also serious about continuing this one. Plus, there are only a few chapters more before it all ends, I think. __. __Well, the Japanese drama had a few episodes but it was still striking. I'm planning to have it like that. Oh well…. __I'm going to apologize for Kanae and Ren's OOC-ness. It's stupid to think that Ren could get mad at his beloved Kyoko but what the hell. It's going to change anyway…. Please R&R!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat…

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**Chapter 9: Ocean Of Tears**

Kyoko thought she would die.

As soon as she had entered the room, she quickly noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere around her. And when she turned to look at the president, her fears were confirmed. She saw that serious expression on his face, one that told her that he wouldn't let her out of the room alive. She felt a shiver run through her spine as she sat down on the sofa.

_What now?_ She winced in her thoughts. _Why are they so persistent? Why do they want to find out this secret so much? Damn it. Even the president wants to squeeze it out of me! Okaa-san, this is really hard. It's too difficult to keep a secret from the president._

Lory cleared his throat, making Kyoko jump up with the sound. He fixed his gaze at the Kyoko when he spoke. "This meeting might've surprised all three of you but I assure you that nothing bad is going to happen."

From the side, Kyoko sighed in relief. Then she looked to her left where Kanae was seated. Her eyes were fixed on Lory's desk, avoiding eye contact with her. To her right, Kyoko saw that Ren was comfortably leaning on his chair, no minding her existence. The two appeared to be torturing her with their silent treatment. It seems like Lory was the only one who wanted to torment her verbally.

Lory then picked up a bunch of piled up documents on his desk. Skimming through them, he said, "I have no criticisms on your recent jobs. The three of you seem to be doing just fine according to the information that I got. All of you exhibit exceptional skills. Especially _Mogami-san_."

There was a slight change on his voice when he mentioned Kyoko's name. The actress picked up on this and decided to remain quiet. She was afraid that talking might do her more harm than good. Plus, getting the president to do the talking saved her from the possible questions Ren and Kanae might throw at her.

The president continued. "Well, it looks like you three are getting more famous by each passing second. As you might've guessed, I've called you guys here because there is a job waiting for you. Rather, requested for you to take."

Ren immediately tuned back to reality. "A job? A job for each of us?"

"As I see it, yes." Lory studied the papers at hand for a moment and then went back to the conversation. "You three are recommended for a part in director Kitazawa's newest drama."

"Director Kitazawa?" Kanae asked, intrigued. "Is he the same director who got nominated at the Oscars last year?"

"Yeah, that's him," he replied. "Shui Kitazawa. He's only in his early twenties but he's already made a name in our industry. He's very experienced, despite his age. Shui is the ideal director to take if you plan on making a drama series."

_So he's that famous, huh,_ Kyoko thought absent-mindedly. _I guess I'm lucky to be requested by him._

Getting to the point, Ren asked, "He wants us to appear in the drama he's going to direct? The three of us."

Nodding, Lory leaned back on his seat, otherwise called as his 'throne'. "Yep. He wants you three. And the parts he plans on giving you guys are pretty good."

Raising the other piece of paper to his face, he told them, "Kanae Kotonami-san is recommended for the role portraying the female lead's younger sister. That's a big accomplishment, if you ask me." Turning to Kanae, he said, "This is your chance to regain the feeling of love. I hope you would take this."

"I've already thought about that," Kanae told him, staring directly in his eyes. "I'm gonna take the role."

A look of approval was on Lory's face. "That's a good choice." Then he faced Ren. "Now, Ren, you are requested for the male lead of the story. It's nothing new to you. But it's good experience for you to take this. You're as inexperienced as these two when it comes to love."

Ren nodded but he ignored the last part. "I'll take it anyway. I'd like to work with director Kitazawa, seeing how famous he is."

When he had finished talking to Ren, he went on and let his gaze fall on Kyoko. No, not his gaze. It was a glare. Lory was glaring at Kyoko with extreme magnitudes. Kyoko flinched as she saw this. She then wondered frantically how much people Maria had informed about that call. It was bad enough to have these three hate her. How much more if a lot of people actually knew about it?

"Mogami-san," Lory said slowly, not prying his glare from her. "I must say, you've made an impression on the director. He's been attracted to your acting talent so much that he decided to make you his female lead."

"What?" Kyoko blurted out, not believing what she heard. _Female lead? _She wondered._ Me?_

The man was somehow amused by Kyoko's reaction. She didn't even know how big the talent she possessed. "You're highly recommended for the female lead. In other words, you get to be Ren's co-star."

At the mention of the actor's name, Kyoko took a quick peek at him. His face showed no expression whatsoever. She sighed deeply. Well, what was she expecting? Ren resented her. He wouldn't be happy having the girl he hates so much act as his leading lady. Fate really is tricky.

After the president was done speaking, Kanae asked, "So what kind of drama is it? I suppose you are going to tell us what we are getting ourselves into. I don't want to play a puny role."

"Of course," Lory said, slightly frowning at the impatience that the woman was showing. "This drama is kind of different. It's not like those other drama that's about family problems or the likes. It's much more than that. Shui had a hard time locating script writers who could make the story so - melancholic, I think."

Kanae grunted. "Just tell us how it is already."

Lory sighed. "The story is mainly about the female lead, Hime Shiina. She has a younger brother, named Akihiro, aged seven and a younger sister, named Yuka, aged thirteen. Hime is fifteen and is helping her parents make a living. She's athletic and is sort of smart, too. She's very talented and everyone likes her for her happy-go-lucky attitude."

Anticipation covered Kyoko. At least her last job in the industry would be a good one. A jolly and super talented role. Now that was a role that any girl would want. Maybe she was going to enjoy this one, despite her disagreement with the two.

"Unfortunately, everything crumbles," Lory continues. "Everything in her life changes when she is diagnosed with a progressive and degenerative disease." He rubbed his temples, trying to think. "I can't recall what it's called but I know there's a word 'spino' there."

Kyoko felt her stomach tie into knots. _The word 'spino' is there. Could it be..?_

"Wait," Kanae interrupted, waving one hand furiously in the air. "You said I'll be the younger sister of the female lead, right? But I look older and taller than Kyoko!"

"Nothing that make-up and proper lighting can't fix," Lory quickly answered, not wanting to hear her ranting on. He was trying to remember that name. "Now what was it? Spinocardiac… Spinore…"

"Spinocerebelar Degeneration," Kyoko told him softly. The three turned to look at her, hearing what she had said. But she didn't budge. "It's that disease isn't it?"

He considered her statement for a second. Then slowly, he nodded. "Yep, that's the one. It's too hard to remember. How did you find out about it, Mogami-san?"

Stunned with his sudden question, Kyoko bowed her head and stared at the floor. Having direct contact with the president would bust her lies. "I w-was searching the internet before I went h-here and just found that."

No more questions were asked. Kyoko was thankful that the president bought her excuse. If he happened to see through her act, it's all over for her. She'd get kicked out of the business and spend her days waiting for her time to come.

The president leaned forward, continuing his explanation. "Anyway, she gets diagnosed with the disease and so. But she doesn't know about this at first. Only her mother. Soon, she gets into weird accidents and she starts thinking why it's all happening to her. When she accidentally looks inside her mother's drawers, she discovers her real condition."

Turning his eyes to Kyoko, he said, "You will have to practice a lot from now on, Mogami-san. It's very difficult to portray a delicate role such as this. You have to appear like you really do have that illness."

The actress almost laughed sarcastically. _I don't need to act it out,_ she thought grimly. _I already am sick._

"Slowly but painfully, the disease decreases her coordination and movements but her mind still functions. That's why the illness acts like a prison," Lory further explained. "You can think; you know what's happening to you but you don't have the power to stop it. It's like you're trapped in your own body as a prisoner."

_I'll be a prisoner in my own body,_ she thought. _I'll be trapped inside, slowly waiting for my time to come. I'll become worthless. I'll be a burden. I will…_

Kyoko saw the president looking worriedly at her. What's wrong? Was he afraid that she wouldn't be able to act it out?

"Mogami-san, are you alright?" Lory asked, still looking at her. "Why are you crying?"

"Huh?" She hadn't noticed but while she was thinking, tears were trickling down her face. Now that Lory pointed it out, she became more aware of it. Taking out her handkerchief, she wiped the fresh tears from her face. No use though. More came out of her eyes.

"Is there something bothering you?" The man continued to ask, standing up from his place.

"No, it's…" Kyoko couldn't talk properly. She was sobbing for an unknown reason.

The two who had been ignoring her earlier glanced at her. Kanae looked like she was about to give in and make up with her at any moment. Ren appeared, well, neutral. He didn't seem to care what was happening although in his mind, he wanted so much to be the one who would comfort the girl.

Lory was making her way toward her. But Kyoko, regaining her senses, stood up and gestured for him to stop. "No, I'm alright. I'm just… practicing for the role."

The man's brows knotted together. Practicing? It didn't seem like those tears were fake. "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded vigorously. Lory, unable to disagree with her, sat down on his chair again. He was beginning to get suspicious of her actions. Kyoko had to be careful from now on, especially in front of these three people.

Clearing his throat, Lory set the papers on the desk. "There're no more complaints, right?" When no one answered, he took three five-paged scripts from his drawer. "This is the script for the drama. It's only for the first two scenes so if you want to get the whole script you have to consult Shui."

He held out one of the scripts. "Ren, this one's for you."

The actor gracefully got up from his seat and took the paper from the president's hands. He skimmed the pages first before he sat down. For a brief moment, Kyoko thought Ren glanced at her. But that's only for a short period of time.

"Next, Kotonami-san," he said, holding out another one.

Kanae went up to him and snatched the paper from his hands. She groped it as she quickly scanned the whole thing. There was a low grunt when she got to the third page although she did not give out any complaints.

Just as the actress sat down, Lory reached for the last piece and called, "Mogami-san."

The girl anxiously got up and walked to the desk. She began to reach out for the papers with her left hand then stopped. Her hand halted halfway in between.

She couldn't move.

_Not again,_ Kyoko thought, panicking. _Not now. Please._

A puzzled expression was on the faces of the three. They were confused why Kyoko had stopped her hand.

"Are you reconsidering the job offer?" Lory asked her, trying to get her attention.

Beads of sweat covered Kyoko's forehead, despite the cold air around them. She couldn't move her hand. No matter how much efforts he exerted, it just won't obey her mind. And she was beginning to feel disoriented again.

_It's like you're trapped in your own body as a prisoner…_

Before she would even collapse on the floor, Kyoko grasped the script using her other hand and muttered a soft thank you. Then she swiftly made her way back to her seat. She plopped down, rubbing her limp arm.

Lory, Kanae and Ren tried to ignore this. Lory went on talking and giving them an overview of what would happen at shooting. Kanae focused her mind on him but still felt worried about her friend. Ren stared blankly ahead, unsure for the first time about what he's supposed to do.

After all that explaining, Lory dismissed them. They all went out in a single file with Kyoko at the end. But before she went out, she asked one more question to the president.

"Uhm, what's the name of that drama?" Kyoko inquired, leaning against the door frame.

He took his time before answering. "That drama's called 'Ocean Of Tears'."


	10. Unveiled

_Kaorin71: Okay, this is chapter ten! Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I got the inspiration to upload a new chappy right away. And this is one chapter I had to think about. I made this per the request of alitablake (I think). It's also about time for Kanae to find out anyway. But of course, Kyoko still won't tell her. She'll have to do some investigating… Oh well. R&R again, you guys!_

_P.S: Guys, the text in bold and italic are excerpts from some of the chapters. You can just skim through them but I put it in just in case you guys forgot about the accidents Kyoko got into and are too lazy to go back in the past chapters._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat…

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**Chapter 10: Unveiled**

'_That drama's called 'Ocean Of Tears'.'_

_The name fits,_ Kyoko thought as she followed the other two. Dry tears were still marked on her face, drawing some attention from the staff. _A talented girl like Hime sure deserves a lot of tears when she dies, unlike me._

An intersection came up. Kanae went to the left while Ren headed to the right. Kyoko watched them disappear from her view, her gaze regretful. She didn't know what to do anymore. She figured that she should've at least told Kanae and Ren what happening to her. Yet if she does that she'll become the useless girl she dreads to be.

_I'll tell them sometime later on,_ the actress thought, going to the right. _It's better to have them in the dark for a while. I don't know how they'll take it and I'm not taking the chance. Not yet._

Making that decision, Kyoko went to the Love-Me office. Before she opened the door, she remembered that she needed to go to Sawara to check on her jobs. Pivoting from her current position, she went left and arrived at the office. It was full of people, as usual. Kyoko was craning her neck, looking for the man when she saw him pass by.

"Sawara-san!" Kyoko called, getting the attention of the man carrying a five-foot pile of paper. Bowing down, she asked, "Uh, are there any job requests that I need to take now? Or any interview?"

The man gestured for her to follow him. She did and they got to his desk. Putting down the pile, he straightened his back and replied, "Actually, there aren't any job requests for you. No interviews to attend to as well so you can probably rest."

"Rest?" Kyoko asked, puzzled. "Why should I rest?"

Glancing at her, Sawara said, "I know you need to rest. I also know that you fainted the other day." Seeing Kyoko about to protest, he quickly told her, "I cancelled all your jobs for this week so that you can take a short break. It's not very good to overwork yourself."

_If I rest then I'll run out of time,_ Kyoko mentally said. _I can't waste my remaining days resting and just waiting._ "I'm not overworking myself, Sawara-san. I'm healthy and as good as ever!"

He shook his head, a bit amused that the actress didn't want to take a break. Those big names in showbiz will pay for anything just to rest. She, who is being given the chance to do so, won't even accept it. He was beginning to think that the actress had the rare potential to be the greatest in the industry.

Kyoko, knowing that he won't change his mind any time soon, made a deal with him. "Okay, I'm not going to work for the remaining three days of this week. But at least let me wander around LME. I won't work, I promise."

Seeing that the girl was sincere, he exhaled and told her, "Fine. You won't take no for an answer, will you?" After saying that, he began to lift the pile up again. "I have to get these to the storage room."

"I'll do that," Kyoko politely offered, lifting the pile up before the man could do so. She knew that he would complain so she said, "Don't worry, Sawara-san. This isn't much of a hassle for me. It's just a stack of paper."

Sighing, he leaned back on the wooden furniture. "I guess you won't let anything stop you. Okay, I'll let you do this one." Taking out a piece of paper from his drawer, he pointed at the figure drawn on it. It was the floor plan for the building. "This is where we are now. There are five storage rooms at the west of this hallway. Take these to the one marked 'B'."

Nodding, Kyoko bowed down before finally leaving. Sawara scratched his head, wondering how she managed to bow down with the stack of paper on her hands. Shrugging the thought away, he continued with his own affairs.

Down at the hallway, Kyoko heeded Sawara's words and had now come up to an abandoned area at the building. Loads of carton and used props were scattered around, making it hard to move around. Man, if Kyoko would freeze up at a time like this, she'll be in a heap of trouble.

A few steps to her right, she saw another hallway. Squinting harder, she saw five brown doors at the left side of the hall, labeled with letters. When her gaze fell on the door marked with the letter 'B', she quickened her pace. The door was slightly ajar which made getting in easy, even with a mound of junk on her hands.

_That was tough,_ Kyoko thought, gently bending down to place the papers on the floor beside her. Wiping her face, she stood up._ I didn't know that paper weighed so much. And it was a good thing that I didn't get disoriented on the way. That would've caused me a lot of problems._

Having her job done, she was about to leave when she became interested with the other stack of folders by the side. Curiosity got the better of her and soon enough, she was on her knees, rummaging through the files inside the folders. One file she saw was about Ren's old job six years ago.

_Hmm, the movie he starred in raked in about five billion yen,_ Kyoko thought, reading the text. _Well, that's Tsuruga-san for you. He's that famous. Even as a teenager, he was very well-known. _

Lowering her hand, a sudden thought got her. _What would've Tsuruga-san looked like if he was still a teenager up to now? No doubt he'll be twice as handsome as that bastard singer. No matter what he looks like, he's still the same Tsuruga-san everyone has come to know. That is, except to me._

Shaking her head, she put the folder away._ It's not the time to be thinking how much Tsuruga-san hates me. I'll wait for his temper to cool down then I'll take the chance to apologize. If I do that then maybe I'll have a bigger chance of being forgiven. _

She sat in the silence for a short while. Then, after that she stood up. She was about to make her leave when she took notice of another pile of folders. Not being able to suppress her in-born curiosity, she went up and leafed through the files. On this pile, however, she found something intriguing.

_Hime Kanzaki, age sixteen, was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease that targets one's motor skills. Because of the disease, she quit showbiz and…_ Kyoko was surprised with what she was reading. An actress before her was diagnosed with the same disease. She became the subject of gossips and news. After a year of struggle, Hime decided to leave the industry and continue her remaining life in the plains of Hokkaido.

_Hime?_ Kyoko thought, hearing the name before. _Isn't that the part I'm going to play in the drama? Wait. Is this drama somehow related with this girl?_

As she read more of the news, she found that the actress had a younger brother and sister, just like her role. The girl, Hime, was also talented like her character in the drama. Almost all of the description fit her perfectly.

_They based the drama on her life,_ she concluded. _So there actually was a talented girl like her. Someone so gifted but was suddenly afflicted with an incurable curse. Someone just like me._

Tossing the papers aside, she went up to a desk at the secluded part of the room. There she saw an old computer unit plugged in and functional. Kyoko didn't have the time to think why the hell there was a computer like that there. She wanted to find the answer to the question in her head. She wanted to know if Hime ever recovered from the illness.

_If she managed to recover, then maybe there would also be a chance for me to conquer this ailment,_ she thought, typing down the actress's name on the search engine. Pushing the 'Ok' button, she saw multiple results for her search. One result got her eye and she clicked it. Soon, she was in some sort of news website.

"Actress… one, two… ah, here," Kyoko said out loud, clicking on a link that led to Hime's profile. After loading the page, Kyoko quickly scanned the text. Hime was born… got a career in acting… was at the top of her game when she was told about the disease... quit showbiz because of her incapacity to move... a rare case... moved to Hokkaido and lived there with her family...

Reading the last sentence, her heart nearly stopped beating. What she was expecting for wasn't there. There, written in place of what she thought would be the answer to her wishes, was the most horrible thing she had ever read.

'_Hime died peacefully in her sleep at the age of twenty on May 12, 2004. No cure to her illness was ever found.' _

_No cure…_ Kyoko slumped back on the wall, covering her face with her palm. Instead of crying, she felt like laughing at herself._ I'm such an idiot. Thinking that there's a cure to this condition… Really. I'm hopeless._

Knowing that there was no point in standing there, Kyoko pushed herself away from the wall. She stared blankly at the computer screen. A few seconds later, she sighed then leaned closer to the unit. If she can't find out how to cure herself, she might as well just see how Hime tried to cope up with the condition.

Skimming the whole article, she found a link about Spinocerebellar Degeneration. She rolled the mouse over it and clicked on it. It opened a new window, revealing a new website on the screen. On top of the page, the words 'Spinocerebellar Degeneration' were written. Below it was the description and a list of the symptoms of the illness.

_Uncoordinated movement, incapacity to move at times and unexplained freezing in place,_ Kyoko mentally said._ I already know about that. Ah, there are others. Inability to speak clearly and to write, uncommon clumsiness…_

She stopped reading when she heard a soft movement coming from the doorway. Surprised, she glanced behind her. Nothing there.

_Was that just my imagination?_ Kyoko pondered, looking puzzled. _Why do I feel like someone was spying on me?_

Shrugging away the uneasy feeling, the actress arranged the creases on her dress, closed the browser and sauntered out the room. Before she completely went away, she cast one last glance at the open door. She was pretty sure that she heard a shuffling sound earlier...

_Maybe it really was just my imagination,_ Kyoko concluded, heading away.

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_That was close,_ she thought, coming out from behind the door as soon as the actress went away. In her hands were two piles of paper, weighing about five kilos each. It was a good thing that she still managed to avoid getting detected by the girl even with that junk in her arms.

_Now what was that girl looking at?_ Kanae asked herself, going through the folders she read earlier. She swiftly saw the one Kyoko was reading earlier. It was folder about Hime Kanzaki, the one with the blue stamp. Opening it, she skimmed through the words. _Hime... got sick... went away to Hokkaido. So why was she reading this?_

Kicking the mound of paper aside, she got to the desk with the beat up computer. Acting quickly, she opened the browser and looked at the history. There were only two sites visited recently, the ones Kyoko looked into. One site was the News website and the other was about the disease.

_Hime Kanzaki? Spinoce - whatever. What the hell is this about?_ Kanae, with knitted brows, read the entire page. _So what if this girl died with this disease? Why was that girl looking at her profile? Mo! She's really keeping a lot of secrets from me._

After ensuring that the site was useless, she closed the browser and looked into the other one. This page was the one Kyoko opened after clicking on the link. The one about the disease.

_Spinocerebellar Degeneration. Isn't this the one she mentioned earlier at the office?_ Realizing this, Kanae got suspicious and began to read the article.

_Spinocerebellar Degeneration is a rare degenerative disease that weakens one's motor skills. Although this disease targets adults most of the time, some rare cases about teenagers showing signs of the illness as early as thirteen years have been reported. This disease...'_

Kanae, out of impatience, skipped this part and went on to the list of symptoms. Brows still knitted together, she began to read out loud, "Signs of the disease are characterized with uncoordinated movement, incapacity to move at times and unexplained freezing in place." She was about to jump into the next when she recalled something.

_**Noticing her friend's sudden pause, she snapped her fingers in front of Kyoko. "What are you doing now? Stop acting so weird."**_

_**As she said that, Kyoko broke from her trance. Her hand twitched. Confused, she lifted her arm. It moved.**_

_**A grunt came from her side. Kyoko saw Kanae observing her. She raised her brows. "What?"**_

_**"Nothing. You just stopped. I thought something was happening."**_

_**"No, it's probably nothing," Kyoko softly said. **_

_It was probably nothing… That was the reply she gave me at that time,_ Kanae thought, getting skeptical._ But was it really nothing? Did that event mean something somehow?_

Another memory came into Kanae's mind. This was probably the most shocking one she had ever encountered. That incident…

_**A loud thud echoed through the corridors as Kyoko landed on the floor unconscious. Thank God, her head didn't crack open. It just bled. Good thing she didn't have hemophillia.**_

_**"Kyoko!" Kanae exclaimed, running up to the fallen figure. Her friend was really weird, she knows. But this is surely the weirdest she has seen from her. Lifting Kyoko's head up, she gasped quietly. Blood covered her forehead.**_

_**Kyoko dizzily realized her mistake. She shook her head carefully and gazed at Kanae. "An accident. It was an accident."**_

_**Gritting her teeth, Kanae said, "Since when did you become so clumsy, Kyoko? You tripped and fell down just like that. That's not normal!"**_

_**Kyoko tried to stand up. "I've been over working myself." Maybe.**_

_**But Kanae prevented her in doing so. She reached for her handkerchief and spread it out. Carefully, she wiped the blood from her face.**_

_**"Take it easy," she murmured. "Someone's bound to see us. We'll get you stitched."**_

_**Kyoko weakly nodded. She was too exhausted to argue. Probably because of the blood loss and that she had hit her head hard…**_

And as Kanae read the next items on the list, one caught her attention. _Uncommon clumsiness,_ she thought. _Just recently, some of the things on this list had been happening to Kyoko. But it can't be that she's sick. No, it's definitely not it. It can't be that._

Yet, even as she tried to convince herself that she was wrong, her mind told her otherwise. Although she wanted to believe that Kyoko was fine, seeing this piece of evidence made her doubt. Then one more memory came to her, one that had just happened earlier that morning.

_**The girl anxiously got up and walked to the desk. She began to reach out for the papers with her left hand then stopped. Her hand halted halfway in between.**_

_**She couldn't move.**_

_**A puzzled expression was on the faces of the three. They were confused why Kyoko had stopped her hand. **_

_**"Are you reconsidering the job offer?" Lory asked her, trying to get her attention.**_

_**Beads of sweat covered Kyoko's forehead, despite the cold air around them. She couldn't move her hand. No matter how much efforts she exerted, it just won't obey her mind. And she was beginning to feel disoriented again.**_

_**Before she would even collapse on the floor, Kyoko grasped the script using her other hand and muttered a soft thank you. Then she swiftly made her way back to her seat. She plopped down, rubbing her limp arm. **_

_That certainly is weird. It can't be a coincidence,_ Kanae told herself, closing the browser and heading out the room. _But that disease doesn't have anything to do with what's happening to Kyoko now. Does it?_

Kanae was thinking deeply when she heard a loud thudding sound coming from the intersection ahead. A flurry of papers came flying into the air, scattering around the hall. The actress quickened her pace to find out what had happened. When she got there, her gaze fell unto the girl sprawled on the floor.

"Kyoko!" She yelled out in surprise, pulling the girl into sitting position. There was no trace of blood which relieved Kanae. She tried to slap her gently to awaken her but Kyoko didn't wake up.

A woman was passing by the corridor when she saw them. She was about to bend down and help when Kanae told her, "Get someone. Anyone. Just make sure that he's strong enough to carry my friend."

_This better not be what I think it is,_ Kanae thought grimly as the woman went to get help. Her face showed a pained expression as she stroked her hair. _You're not sick, are you? Because if you are…_

… _I'm not sure what I'll do anymore.

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_Note: I don't know where I got the date. I just randomly thought of it ad put it in. If it matches any real life events, that's of pure coincidence. So again, R&R!_


	11. Sin

_Kaorin71: I don't know what made me name this chapter this way. I guess I just ran out of ideas for it. I'm gonna apologize in advance if Kanae and Kyoko here are too OOC. And I appreciate those who continue to read this story up to this moment. Please keep reading and reviewing this, guys!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat…

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**Chapter 11: Sin**

"Nothing seems to be broken," the doctor told her, reading a piece of paper. "Her bones are perfectly intact. No brain damage was sustained. Rest assured that she'll be fine next morning."

"No, she won't," Kanae countered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "She's been like this for the past days. It keeps on happening. How can you say that there's nothing wrong?"

Clearing her throat, Miya jumped in before any of them would start a fight. "There's nothing wrong with the patient. She's just more prone to tripping and freezing up now than before."

"That's my point," the actress said, her temper rising. "None of you quacks here would tell me a single thing about why she's getting clumsier and clumsier with each passing second. If you would tell me the reason then I'll stop."

Miya hesitated. Even though she introduced herself as Kyoko's best friend, she still can't expose the secret. It's Kyoko's choice whether she'll tell her or not. Miya didn't have any right to divulge the real state of her condition without her consent.

Trying her best to lie, the nurse said, "It's just because of over exhaustion. Her body can't take all the pressure she's putting on herself that's why-"

A hand slammed against the nearby wall. The thudding sound echoed all throughout the corridor. All the people there were surprised. The doctor and the nurse conversing with the girl were definitely shocked.

Glaring at Miya, Kanae said, "Don't try to lie your way out of this one. I know what your excuses are."

"Miss-"

"She's sick, isn't she?" The actress blurted out in complete rage. "Isn't it? Am I right or not?"

"Kotonami-san, that's -"

"Spinocerebellar Degeneration. That's it, isn't it?" Kanae inquired, remembering what she had read on the website. "She has that disease, doesn't she? That's the reason why she's getting clumsier. That's the reason why she tripped on her own two feet. The reason why sometimes she can't even move her own body. Isn't that it?"

Her outburst could be heard even from the outside. People were beginning to back away, afraid of the fight that might break out any time soon. Kanae, trying her best not to show any weakness, was gasping in rage and anger. Anger towards them and to herself.

When the two in front of her didn't answer, she continued, "So what? You're not going to admit it? Are you going to use another excuse? What are you going to -"

"Yes," came Miya's shrill reply. Her voice even surprised herself. Nevertheless, she stared directly into the actress's eyes as she said, "Yes, she's sick. Yes, that's the reason why she's getting clumsier. The reason why she trips on her own feet and the reason why she can't move at times. You're right. It is."

The doctor beside her stared at her wide eyed. "Miya, you…"

Casting her gaze on the floor, she murmured, "She's still her best friend. It's probably the time for her to find out the truth." Raising her gaze, she focused on Kanae. "Mogami-san was afraid that she'd become a burden if you guys knew the truth. She was afraid of becoming a load on you. So she hid the truth. She kept her secret for herself."

"Keeping something as painful as that..." the woman mumbled, clenching her fists. "She's an idiot if she's thinking that I'd see her as a burden."

"Don't tell me that," Miya said. "Tell it to her."

The woman didn't respond. Instead, she just stood there, seemingly lifeless. Knowing that her best friend may just vanish from her side one day, how can she react? That girl was the only source of her happiness… and now it's being taken away from her.

"You know," Miya started, "if lying only wasn't a sin then I would've done it. I would've lied to her about her condition. Because seeing her like that makes my heart ache. I'm sure that you're feeling way worse than me now."

Laughing emptily, she said, "And to think that I've been angry at her. Truth is, I should be angry at myself. If I can't even comfort her at a time like this, then what kind of a friend am I?"

"There's still time," she told the actress. "You can still tell her what you feel. I know for sure that Mogami-san would understand."

Again, the actress didn't respond to her. The doctor, uneasy around Kanae, excused herself and went back to her office. Miya sighed, casting a look at her clipboard. When Kanae failed to reply to her after five minutes, she got ready to leave but was stopped when the woman asked something in a hushed voice.

"How long has it been since she got sick?" Asked the girl, pale as a ghost. "Was it just recently or has it been a long time already?"

She observed her before she gave her reply. "That's a question I can't answer clearly. She may have been sick a long time ago but the symptoms only appeared now. All I know is that she's not going to last as long as you would."

Having said that, Miya turned her back to her and walked away. Kanae watched her leave, still contemplating on what to do. Kyoko is suffering alone in the dark while she, her own best friend, ignores her. She's treating her unfairly just because of that horrible secret she won't share to her.

_I should've known since the beginning,_ Kanae thought, entering the Kyoko's ward. Her gaze fell on the girl, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath. _I should've suspected that something was wrong when Kyoko tripped like that. I shouldn't have just brushed it off like it was nothing. I shouldn't have._

Kanae sat down on the chair beside the bed, her hand on Kyoko's forehead. All this time, she'd been trying to endure the pain by herself. Suffering alone. And she, her best friend, even got angry at her when in reality, she should be angry at herself.

"You really are an idiot," she whispered. "A selfless idiot. You're gonna kill yourself with that attitude of yours."

There was a pause. Kanae glanced at her, wishing for her to wake up. She should wake up. They did say that there was nothing wrong, other than the fact that she's terribly ill with an incurable disease. She wanted Kyoko to tell her the answers to questions. She won't believe it unless it came straight from her.

A moment later, Kyoko's fingers twitched. The girl beside her removed her hand from her forehead, leaning back in surprise. Her eyes fluttered open as she sat up on the bed. She touched her head, feeling dizzy. Then, when she raised her gaze up and saw Kanae, her sleepy expression turned into a startled one, and then into a panicked one.

Kyoko squinted at her, still unsure if it really was her best friend. "Moko-san? What…?"

Crossing her arms in front of her, Kanae avoided her eyes. "You _tripped_ again in the hallway and fainted. I had someone bring you here while you were unconscious. The weird thing is you fell without any warning, just like the last time. Isn't it a coincidence?"

She nodded, casting her gaze downwards. "Yeah. It's just a -"

"Or is it?" Kanae started, glaring at her. She bent closer to Kyoko, making her feel uneasy. "Is it only a coincidence? Or are you hiding something really important? Is there something you don't want to tell me?"

Feeling guilty, Kyoko kept quiet for a while. She fumbled with her bed sheets, thinking if she should tell her now or later._ If I tell her now, will she accept it? Will she be okay with it?_ Kyoko asked herself. _Knowing Moko-san, I guess she'll definitely be angry at me. But if I tell her later on, she'll be even angrier at me. Either way, our friendship will be stained._

Taking a deep breath, Kyoko managed a reply. She, however, made the wrong choice. "It's nothing, Moko-san. I just got a minor headache and I -"

"Minor headache?" Kanae yelled, startling the other girl. She stood up, clenching her hands into fists. "If you're thinking that I haven't noticed anything wrong, Kyoko, then you're mistaken. When you tripped in the hallway days ago, that wasn't 'nothing'. When you froze up in the president's office, that wasn't 'nothing' as well. Why are you telling me that you falling and fainting in the hallway is just nothing when there's something undeniably out of place?"

Shocked, she stood up as well. "Moko-san, it's -"

"It's what? A side effect? An accident?" Kanae blurted out, interrupting her. She shook her head, stepping backward. "I thought that if I gave you a chance, you yourself would tell me your condition. I thought that you'd be willing to tell the truth to me. To your best friend. After all, we never kept secrets from each other. But now, why...?"

"Moko-san," Kyoko called once more, taking a step closer. She reached her hand out to her, trying to calm her down. "What do you mean? I'm not keeping anything important from you."

That last statement from her made something snap inside Kanae. She pushed her hand away, making the other girl stumble back. Looking pained, Kanae said, "I know, Kyoko. I know that you're keeping your condition from me. I know now."

Kyoko looked at her directly in the eyes, trying to find out if she was telling the truth. Unfortunately, she read anything from her eyes other than her pain and anger. Swallowing back her tears, Kyoko reasoned with her. "I'm sorry, Moko-san. I didn't keep it because I didn't trust you. I'm sorry."

"Then what? Why did you keep it? Why didn't you tell me?" She yelled yet again. Her whole body shook with anger - and restraint. She suppressed the hot tears welling up in her eyes and focused on her rage. "Was it because you thought I wouldn't understand? Was it because you thought I'd hate you and leave you? Because you thought I'd despise you and see you as a burden?"

Kyoko raised her hands to her ears, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

"Am I really your friend, Kyoko? Do you really think of me as your best friend?" The woman asked. "Because if you did consider me as your friend even for a second, then you'd realize that I'd understand you. I won't leave you or hate you. You're not a burden to me because you're my best friend and I'm not planning to erase that."

The speechless Kyoko stood gaping at her, crying silently. Kanae was also shedding tears, only that she was seething with too much anger to notice this. She continued before the former could even speak. "Am I the only one hoping that our friendship would last? Is it only one-sided? Am I just making a fool of myself by trying - pretending to be your friend?"

"That's not true," Kyoko countered. "You are my best friend. I do trust you. I knew that you'd understand. It's just…." She trailed off, whimpering and sniffling. The next words that came out of her mouth were in a whisper. "… I became afraid."

At the mention of these words, Kanae's expression slightly softened. "You became afraid only because you were alone. But I'm telling you, you're not the only one suffering. You're afraid of becoming a burden. Me? I'm afraid of the day I'd wake up without you there to burden me." She stepped back further, reaching the doorway of her room and grasping the frame to keep herself up. "You may be a heavy load on me, Kyoko, but you're one burden I wouldn't mind having."

Kyoko stood there, not being able to say anything anymore. Kanae knew and there was nothing she could do about it. She was frustrated and she couldn't find the guts to reason with her again. But worse than that, she wasn't frustrated because she didn't tell her. She was mad at her because Kanae thought that Kyoko didn't acknowledge her as someone she could trust. She was furious because Kyoko didn't treat her as her best friend.

"I'm sorry," Kyoko sniffed.

Kanae tore her gaze off her, glancing regretfully at the floor. "I'm sorry, too."

The actress let out a choked sob as the raven haired woman left. Her legs finally gave away, and she slowly knelt down on the floor, weeping. This was it. This was what she feared. And now it happened. Kanae turned her back on her. She got mad at her. She hated her.

At the hallway, Kanae could still hear her friend's sobs. She stood outside of her room, leaning back on the wall as the hot tears she suppressed earlier trickled down her face. She wanted to hit something or someone just to get the anger out of her system. She wanted get the stress out of her mind. And she wanted to rid the guilt she was feeling for hurting Kyoko even more. Her mind told her to go back into that ward and apologize. But her heart was filled with so much contempt and pain that she couldn't decide what to do.

Her mind was reeling from thinking when she felt a rough bump from behind her. She turned around and found a brown haired woman staring at her, looking at her with concern and confusion. Kanae glanced away, murmured a soft apology and then hurriedly walked away from the place. The woman only grew even more confused and when she went inside Kyoko's room, she was surprised to see her awake and weeping. She ran in, dropping her grocery items on the nearby table and knelt down beside the girl.

Kyoko felt her presence and stared up, half hoping that it was Kanae. Her face fell when she saw who it really was. "Okaa-san…"

"Why? What happened?" Saena asked her urgently, helping her up.

Trembling, Kyoko let her mother lead her to the bed. As soon as she sat down, another batch of tears came out of her eyes. Seeing her mother's worried expression, she choked out some words. "Moko-san… I woke up… she was… here… she found out… about the disease... got mad... then left..."

Saena tried to make sense out of her words and came to the conclusion that 'Moko-san' might be the best friend she was talking about. She recalled the woman who was crying outside the room before she came in and then wondered if she was Kyoko's friend. If she was then maybe the two of them had a very ugly confrontation, a fight which only hurt both of them.

Patting her at the back, Saena comforted her. "Stop crying now. Nothing will be solved with your tears. Everything is going to be fine."

Kyoko shook her head. "It's not going to be fine. Moko-san… she probably doesn't want to see me again."

"Don't say that. She'll come around," she told her, touching her daughter's hand soothingly. "If she's really you're best friend, she'll realize that being angry at you would only make things worse. She loves you, but her anger covered it up for the meantime. I'm sure she's just confused and hurt at the moment."

Kyoko stared at her for a long time and realized that she was right. If Kanae really loved her as her best friend, she would come back. She'll make up with her. Kyoko knew that Kanae was caring and responsible, despite her attitude. But for the meantime, she had to endure the pain of knowing that her best friend was angry at her.

After a while, the girl stopped crying. She was trying to steel herself, trying to be strong for both herself and Kanae. One of them has to be brave enough to admit that she was wrong. Now, the other has to figure out that she too made a mistake. When that happens, they'll make up and pretend that this never even occurred._ If_ that will even happen.

Saena stayed beside her for a long time until she remembered something important. She casually stood up and reached out for her purse, which was among her grocery items. Grabbing the bag, she steadily walked back and sat down by the girl, smiling faintly. Kyoko caught glimpse of this and began to wonder.

"Okaa-san? Is there something you're going to tell me?" she asked, a little confused. She'd had enough tension for one day, and what her mother would tell her might make her lose it.

Saena kept the smile on her face, scooting closer to her. "I'm taking you for a vacation. Just a three day break from your work. They did allow you to rest for a while."

"Vacation?" Kyoko repeated, looking closer to see if her mother was serious. "Where to?"

"To Kyoto, of course. You and I haven't been there for a while so I figured, why not?" Saena told her. "I asked Sawara-san about your job offers. He said that your new drama wasn't for about a week so we can still go."

Kyoto. Even though the mention of the place never failed to make her remember of Sho and his absurdity, she still loved it. She missed the forests where she used to run about, missed the ryokan which she had considered as her home and she missed that magical place she and Kuon shared during his short stay at the place. Kyoko longed to bathe in the pure waters flowing in the stream and there were times when she would dream about the feel of the grass on her skin. No matter how dark her experience was in Kyoto, she could never erase it from her heart.

"Okay, I'll go."_ And maybe, just maybe, Moko-san would be able to accept me again when I come back, _Kyoko added in her mind, sighing.


	12. Relationships

_Kaorin71: Hi! So, yeah, I've been away for quite a while (if you can call two years "quite a while"). I'm sorry for the long wait and yeah, I'm still not sure what I'll be doin' with this story here. You guys were pretty patient with me, so I am deeply grateful and I hope this chapter might, in a way, make up for my 'delinquency'. Haha *ehem*. R&R!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat._

* * *

**Chapter 12: Relationships**

It was cold. Strangely cold. The Love-Me quarters was exuding such an uncomfortable chill that even Kyoko's hidden demons cannot tolerate. The actress, who was down on her knees while arranging the contents of the lower division of her locker, could only think of one possible reason for eerie atmosphere lingering within the room.

_Moko-san,_ Kyoko thought._ This is definitely her aura imprinted within this room. And her emotions... I can sense them as well. Anger, grief, hate..._ A sigh escaped from her lips._ She definitely hates me now. It's not that she has no reason to but..._

Kyoko let her train of thoughts stop for a while as she scooped from her locker some of the items she'll need during her leave. In light of the recent _incidents_ that have been happening to her, Takenori Sawara, her superior, thought it'd be best if she were to rest from work for a while. She had been displeased with the sudden decision and had been ready to stand her ground, but then she'd been told that the decision did not come from the section head. On the contrary, the order was from the LME president himself.

_If it's the president's order, I can't disagree,_ she thought darkly as she sorted her belongings._ For a brief moment, I'd considered evading the order given by convincing Sawara-san to retract it, one way or another._ The thought of convincing her superior 'one way or another'—with _another_ holding a sort of chilling meaning—made Kyoko reminisce her experiences at the LME auditions. A small, menacing smile tugged on her lips as she recalled her encounter with Sawara-san. Digging deeper in her memories wiped away her smile and brought her back to her current problem: Kotonami Kanae.

Being given an excused leave for a week left her feelings in a chaotic jumble. First of all, her absence will surely affect the filming schedule of her current projects. Kind-natured Kyoko just can't help but berate herself for disrupting everyone's already fully-booked schedules, albeit the fault not entirely hers. She made a mental note to double her working effort upon returning to the set.

Her own schedule would also need some adjustments, not that it'd be too much of a problem. The real issue that's bugging her all the while isn't actually work related, and this Kyoko even scolded herself for being too distracted to worry about her acting jobs. Typical Kyoko.

That aside, Kyoko worries that she does not have any excuse to remain within the premises of LME, since she is currently on leave and should not be working. She would therefore encounter difficulty if she would want to meet up with her best friend, Kotonami Kanae or even her sempai, Tsuruga Ren. There was still an option of meeting up with them outside LME, though that would give her a slimmer chance of meeting up with any of the two since she isn't familiar with their schedule outside work.

A grim expression made its way on Kyoko's face._ Dragging it on will only make the situation worse,_ she mournfully thought._ Moko-san is probably angrier than ever and Tsuruga-san gives me the cold shoulder. I haven't even seen them today, which is both relieving and problematic. I'm fully aware that I need to apologize but... if they continue to avoid conversing with me, I'd have no chance to even utter a single 'sorry'!_

A loud ringing suddenly filled the enclosed room, saving Kyoko from her thoughts. She recognized it as her new phone's voice call ring tone. Immediately she stood up and made her way to the table, fetched the phone from her purse and answered the call without delay.

"Okaa-san," she said, sitting down on a nearby chair. She knew without doubt that the caller is her mother—not because of some weird mother-daughter psychic connection, but simply because Saena was the only person who knew Kyoko's changed phone number.

"Yes, Kyoko. Are you still at LME?"

Kyoko's gaze went to her belongings, scattered and still sitting on the floor next to her open locker. "Yes. Well, I'm still sorting out a couple of things I'll be needing while we're away. Besides my personal stuff, I think I'll be bringing scripts from some of my projects and review them just to practice."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Kyoko heard the distinctive high-pitched tinkling of what she guessed ceramic and steel making contact. _Probably making tea. _"I see. It's nice that you're thinking professionally. But I hope you are not neglecting your health even while thinking of work."

"No, I'm not. I keep myself in check all the time and I've always been healthy." _Well, I had thought I've always been healthy. Obviously I was wrong,_ she added silently before proceeding. "I take my meals at the proper moments. Oh, and my caretakers at the Daruma-ya are very considerate towards me. They won't even let me out of the store without eating any of their prepared meals," she finished while giggling, thinking of her okami-san and the boss.

The tinkling sound stopped as Saena answered, "Good. And it's kind of them to look for you, too." She paused again. "By the way, about the trip to Kyoto... I've been meaning to ask you about it. Would it be fine with you if we'd spend our three days there at Fuwa's inn?"

The mention of that place stirred Kyoko's emotions. Her thoughts immediately began centering around her childhood friend, Shoutaro. _No,_ she silently chastised herself. _Focus._ The actress forced _him_ out of her mind and concentrated on the topic. Besides the fact that the inn is owned by _his_ parents—and that these parents had once planned to wed her to _him_—the place itself wasn't hateful. Kyoko considered it as a peaceful haven. A haven surrounded thickly by the green of nature. Above all, this place housed her when she—

"Ah, no problem. None at all," the actress quickly responded, interrupting her train of thoughts before it made her uncomfortable. "I'd love to stay there. Come to think of it, I haven't seen the Fuwa couple since the time I left for Tokyo. It'd be nice to see them once more."

"Very well, then." At that moment, Kyoko thought she caught a hint of sadness from Saena's reply. However, her mother spoke again before she dwelled on the thought. "Everything's settled, I suppose. We will depart tomorrow morning. Would you like to ride privately in another car? I could contact your driver right away."

Snapping out of her thoughts, the young actress hastily replied, "No need for that. I wouldn't want to bother another person with my concern. And an extra car would mean extra gas and that's just a waste of our resources. Anyway, I could just ride with you, okaa-san. That is, if you don't mind. It's not a problem for me. I mean, I'm fine riding along. I don't mind." She stopped herself from babbling. Kyoko could feel her face get hot due to embarrassment.

If Saena even noticed her daughter's uncharacteristic babbling, she didn't pay any mention to it. She responded normally. "You're right. I'm probably just too worried. We'll be taking my car, then. I'll pick you up seven in the morning, in front of the store. Pack your clothes and other necessities tonight. And don't stay up late, alright?"

"Yes, I understand," Kyoko carefully replied.

Saena coughed. "It's late in the afternoon. I hope you finish up your business there before the sun sets. It's no longer safe to be wandering about at night."

"Yes." Kyoko thought the answer she gave was too short, so she quickly added, "Thank you."

"Okay." Kyoko heard it again—that tone with a tinge of sadness. "I'll see you tomorrow. Be careful now."

The phone was hung up before Kyoko could even utter her farewell. She lowered the device to her lap, staring at it for half a minute more. Her free hand went to her forehead and massaged her temple as she bit her lips. _I acted like an idiot,_ she thought grimly. _Nervous. Still I'm nervous. Huh._

It surprised her how affected she was whenever her mother calls or talks to her personally. At first, Kyoko thought she didn't need to worry about her relationship with Saena—not now that they've reconciled. Yet as the initial shock of all that's happened faded, it dawned to her that she is still far from completely forgetting Saena's past offenses and shortcomings towards her as her mother.

Bowing her head, Kyoko closed her eyes and continued to massage her temple in order to calm herself. _Breathe in, breathe out. In. Out. In and out. Steady breaths,_ she thought.

That conversation didn't even last for five minutes, and she had only slipped up once when she babbled, but she was already greatly affected.

"Okay now, Kyoko. Concentrate on the positives," she murmured. "Do not think of the negatives. Do not think that your mother hates babbling. Do not think that it will make her hate you. That's all in the past. All in the past, Kyoko. I need to clear my mind to think of solutions to my other problems." _Especially the one concerning Moko-san._

_Positive, positive... well, I'll be able to relax a bit in the familiar Kyoto atmosphere._ Kyoko nodded. _That's one._

She was still breathing steadily, deeply but in a relaxed manner.

_I'll be staying at the inn again, surrounded by the magic of fairies. _At this, she giggled.

It was working. Instantly, she began to feel better.

_It feels like I'm a child again,_ she thought. _And I'm staying over at the inn because—_

—_because I have nowhere else to go._

Because she was entrusted to them.

When she was abandoned.

By her mother._ Saena Mogami._

Ah, crap.

Kyoko resolved to just finish up sorting through her things, make her way home and keep herself busy packing her belongings. The problems she's currently facing are not going to solve themselves, but neither will she be able to find a possible solution for them if she cannot rid her mind of all these unnecessary worries. It'd be best for her to clear her mind first. And, although unpleasant, she has to admit to herself that the three day vacation might just do the job.

After sorting through the pile, Kyoko replaced her unneeded possessions in her locker. She shut it tightly and scooped up from the floor her essential items, which included a script or two from some of her latest projects. Not even a minute later, Kyoko was already outside the Love-Me room, carrying with her her purse and the items she came for. Her legs took her immediately to the exit. Had she not noticed the late afternoon sunlight faintly streaming in, she wouldn't have realized she was just steps away from the exit. Kyoko would've gone out without any second thoughts.

But, wait. She did have second thoughts.

Kyoko pivoted and turned around, her eyes sweeping the LME main lobby. _Should I really leave things in this state?_ she asked herself. _There's still an hour before sunset. Still an hour, but only an hour. Moko-san is generally work centered so I'm not sure if she's done taping on set. My limited time will primarily be spent looking for her. If somehow I successfully locate her, the remaining time isn't enough for a deep conversation. No, no, why am I even worried? I can go home no matter what time. But I promised okaa-san—_

Shimmering, raven black hair appeared in Kyoko's vision. She abruptly turned in the same direction and then saw her. That raven colored hair. Her natural physique and poise. Those fashionable clothing and accessories adorning her figure. This actress knew only one person who could dress that way and carry herself with outstanding confidence.

Kanae Kotonami.

Forgetting about her mental battle on curfew and time, Kyoko quickly turned around and made her way towards the woman. Kanae was headed at the deeper part of the building, directly south of the main lobby and entrance of the building. Kyoko moved fast, but her best friend apparently had a better pace. She walked towards a hallway on the right part of the area and disappeared from sight. Not wanting to lose her, Kyoko broke into a run as she rounded the corner towards the hallway.

And she ran face-to-face with a dark haired woman.

Before they collided, Kyoko managed to swerve, hitting the wall at her right instead of the woman. The dark haired lady stared at her, probably shocked, whlst standing before the actress and holding a door. A soft apology came from Kyoko as she stood straight once more and, remembering her objective, peered into the open room. She didn't find Kanae and sighed deeply, all the while with the woman watching her with curious yet still wide eyes.

"Are you alright?" the kind woman asked her in a soothing tone. She pushed the door further, keeping the doorway wide open.

"Yes, I'm not hurt. I'm sorry if I startled you." Kyoko bowed as she mumbled her sincere apology. Her gaze fell on the hallway before her, which seemed to stretch forever. Surely Kanae, even with her fast pace, couldn't have gone that far in just mere minutes. She focused her attention to the dark haired woman. "Um, have you seen a dark haired woman head this way? She's slightly taller than me and has an amazingly powerful aura."

The lady slightly frowned. "No. I haven't seen anyone heading this way."

"Oh." was the only reply Kyoko managed. It was highly improbable, if not impossible, for Kanae to vanish seconds after rounding the corner towards the corridor. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She was too affected with their current conflict, so much that her mind had conjured images of her best friend walking in front of her.

_Somehow, I find it hard to believe,_ Kyoko thought. Even her own demons were baffled by the mystery but like their master, they were too wrapped up with the darkness resulting from Kyoko's conflicting emotions to even investigate further.

"Excuse me," the woman's gentle tone echoed, knocking the actress out of her thoughts. "You seem like you were quite shaken up. Would you like to take a seat for a moment to clear your head?"

"Oh, no. Thank you but I'm definitely fine," she replied with a smile. "I was momentarily caught up with my own thoughts, so I failed to notice your concern. I'll be taking my leave now."

Kyoko bowed respectfully at the still worried woman. Finally this dark haired lady relaxed and repeated the action, bowing down with a smile. She bid farewell to Kyoko, not even moving an inch from the door.

The faint glow of the nearly setting sun pulsed through the windows of LME. As Kyoko made her way to exit the building, she strode purposely and this time, she did not have any second thoughts.

* * *

Kanae walked briskly within LME, grumbling incessantly about forgetting a very important script at the set of her drama with Hiou-kun. The next scene she was to take part in was all tears; in short, it was a real deal, heavy drama. It wasn't as if she was afraid she'd fail the scene, but a little practicing wouldn't hurt either. Moreover, she wasn't the type of woman who would get all cocky and haughty just because she had a huge advantage—her having an amazing clairvoyant skill and all.

She quickly walked deeper within the lobby towards an area branching off into several hallways. She took the long corridor to the right—the one with only one room at its right wall. That certain path curved sharply to the left at the very end, leading to a lone stairwell headed to the site of their drama filming. Other than that, it was just a totally bare, eternally long hallway. And it annoyed the hell out of her.

I don't really get what got into their minds when they decided to construct this. I mean, of all things, why a long corridor with a single room? Kanae shook her head, exasperated. They could've done plenty with this big space. I can't fully understand the logic of filthy rich people.

Preoccupied with her thoughts, Kanae failed to notice the twisting of the knob on the door she was passing by. Air blew on her back as the door was swung open. If not for her quick pacing, the door edge would've hit her face. Kanae cringed, imagining the effect of a door-damaged face to her acting career. Temporary shock turned to anger. Kanae prepared herself to face the person responsible for almost wrecking her bright acting future.

And that's when she heard her.

"Yes, I'm not hurt. I'm sorry if I startled you," said the voice, unmistakably Kyoko's.

A sudden realization hit Kanae. Kyoko_ saw_ her walking in the lobby and followed her. When she ended up in this hallway, her best friend was already catching up to her. Then, if not for unexpected opening of the door...

... Kyoko would've seen me. Kanae finished. So now it turns out that I should be grateful to this lady for almost hitting me. She furrowed her brows slightly. On second thought, should I really be grateful for avoiding Kyokolike this? Should I even be hiding from her?

The memories of their confrontation at the hospital surfaced in her mind, choking Kanae with guilt, worry and anger. She had been angered by the fact that her best friend chose to hide her sensitive condition from her. Did she not know how sick with worry she was during the first "accidents" Kyoko experienced? And to think that they were good friends—best friends even. But was she still mad? No... of course she wasn't. The shock of discovering the truth managed to cloud her judgment. Instead of sadness and grief, Kanae had been overwhelmed with unnecessary fury to the point of breaking. She had felt angry, betrayed, and shocked.

Now she was only miserable, and guilty and drowning with worry.

I should apologize, Kanae thought with a chill. Apologies were not her part of her specialty. In fact, if she were to list all the things that she is not capable of, apologizing would fall on the number one spot, followed by being true to her loved ones and easily making friends.

Kanae frowned. _There is always a next time. No matter. I'm not certain if I can apologize sincerely now anyway. We'll surely have time to deal with things such as emotions and reconciliation._

The question is: will Kyoko have any more time to waste?

"To hell with next time," Kanae grumbled with gritted teeth, abruptly turning around. "Kyoko, I—"

A soft click echoed within the empty hallway. She stopped as sudden as she started. Silence surrounded and enveloped her body and mind. The door was shut at the same time she decided to turn around. And the actress Kyoko had left the area minutes ago.

Kanae put a palm against her forehead, shaking her head. "Hell. And to think I'd even worked up the courage to apologize to her." She still stood gracefully, but her shoulders now sagged with disappointment. "If only I'd been braver, and less proud."

"Damn it, Kanae. You're a coward," she yelled out, breaking the silence. In her fury, she resorted to using third person speech. Yelling her frustration eased her spirit, but her purpose was more of to chastise herself than to feel better. Hands balled into tight fists, she urged herself to walk again, whispering hoarsely, "Tomorrow. Tomorrow, Kanae, you are going to face her, whether you're ready or not."

* * *

"Grandfather, what sort of foolishness is this?"

Maria stood inside the control room of LME Productions, the office of the respected president of the company—or what remains of its formality. Golden desert sand was spread unequally across the tiled floor, giving it an impression of a rising and plunging landscape. All furniture were designed to go with the desert theme, made of exquisite wood and intricately carved on. A fully grown humped camel stood at near the left wall, with a cart of freshly bought herbs beside it.

The president was as extraordinary as ever. He sat on a beautiful daïs at the center of the room, which was within a huge designed tent. Lory wore a Sultan's clothing, divine robes and all, complete with accessories. For some reason, a lovely Persian cat was part of this display. It sat at the right side of the president, its eyes gleaming mischievously at Maria.

Feigning innocence, Lory looked at his granddaughter. "Why, this is the start of my new mission to spread love and joy. Is there nothing more romantic other than the sweet, desert landscape?" He stood up and walked to his granddaughter, but then reconsidered his earlier words. "Other than the atmosphere in Paris and the precious water adventures in Venice, of course."

The little girl grumbled. "I don't see anything special about deserts. They're hot and perilous, and a lot of people who trek the steaming desert plains end up getting toasted in the ridiculous heat."

Lory frowned at his granddaughter's lack of enthusiasm. "Of course you won't notice anything special if you only focus on death and desert heat."

"Because there isn't anything else to focus on other than that. And I don't see the point of being a Sultan." As usual, Maria was all facts.

"Every place needs an emissary of love. I am not a mere Sultan, too, mind you, but a Sultan who brings forth romance to his people in the midst of all hopelessness. Just like the appearance of an oasis to a parched traveler," Lory heroically stated, arms outstretched. He snapped back to reality and glanced at Maria. "No point in explaining it all to you, anyway. What brings you here to my royal abode?"

She snorted, earning a glare from the president. Ignoring him, she said, "I haven't seen my beloved Ren-sama in hours and I'm outright bored, so I came here. Oh, some people saw me downstairs and treated me like an errand girl." Maria handed a folder of documents to him. "They asked me to give this to you, grandfather." Lory graciously took the folder from her tiny hands. Maria then puffed her cheeks and stomped to the door. "I'm going down to amuse myself, grandfather."

His devil of a granddaughter disappeared before he could have the chance of stopping her. Amuse herself, she had said. Lory frowned deeply, sitting down on his throne. _That child's idea of amusement perplexes me,_ Lory thought. _I'd better do some damage control later on, as always._

Grumbling about his granddaughter's weird antics, Lory absent-mindedly opened the folder, revealing stapled sheets of white paper. It was the report he had asked from Takenori Sawara, the person-in-charge of the Love-Me section. Still pouting, he flicked the stack, skimming through paragraphs and charts of important information, until he found what he was looking for.

His eyes turned serious, his expression uncharacteristically grim as he observed the document. It contained photographs of a certain brown haired actress and woman who Lory did not know until days ago. The older woman wore a severe expression on her face as opposed to the sweet smiling feature on the young actress. Their photos were separate; there wasn't a single picture in the document featuring both of them together. They had different facial details and posture, with the only noticeable trait shared was their bright, amber eyes.

Lory fixed his gaze on the photos, unblinking. _I am the Sultan in this desert region. And I have the right to know what goes on within my kingdom._

* * *

_**Okay, so I just gotta ask the following:**_

_1.) Do you guys have any idea how to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto? Be specific, please._

_2.) If any of you are knowledgeable in the medical field, what sort (and brand and whatever details still) of medicine do people with Spinocerebellar Degeneration take?_

_3.) Will I die if, for example, I am a very frail child of 5 to 10 years seriously ill with Leukemia and I undergo a bone marrow transplant?_

_Please, oh please, if any of you can successfully answer any of the three (but of course, I'd like all three answered), I'd be grateful. Details are necessary, if there are any. Oh, and if those answers are too long, PM instead, m'kay? I might reply if I need clarification so don't be all grouchy when I bombard you guys with messages :D_


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